Postcard of Deutschland and Gefion arrival at Kiautschou Bay in 1899 Post card sent in 1899. Showing two German ships: the armored frigate SMS Deutschland (1876) and the light cruiser SMS Gefion (1893). The circle in the left corner shows the harbour entry to Jiaozhou Bay (text reads ""Entry to the port of Kiaochow"). Handwriting on lower right: "Dear sister to my birthdays heartfelt [truncated] Congratulations greeting ...!"
The Kiautschou Bay concession was a German leased territory in Imperial China which existed from 1898 to 1914. Covering an area of 552 km2 (213 sq mi), it was located around Jiaozhou Bay on the southern coast of the Shandong Peninsula. Jiaozhou was romanized as Kiaochow, Kiauchau or Kiao-Chau in English and Kiautschou or Kiaochau in German. The administrative center was at Tsingtau (Chinese Qingdao).