Qingdao Travel

Qingdao

Qingdao (also known as Tsingtao), is regarded by some Chinese as one of the most beautiful and clean cities in China. With a population of around 3.5 million (8 million regional) it is one of the largest cities in Shandong Province. The name Qingdao means The Blue/Green Island. In 2012, Qingdao was named China's most livable city.
Qingdao's early summer is quite an enjoyable season, although it can be humid near the sea shore. Late summer can become hot, while other places of Northern China start to feel cooler. The climate in late fall and winter can be harsh but snow patches can generally last no longer than a few days. Qingdao is an ideal destination if you want to combine sea-side fun with your trip to China.
Qingdao does not have swarming markets, unpredictable traffic and intense street commerce. The city is relatively clean and orderly and might give the impression of an upcoming wanna-be Singapore.

Qingdao Liuting International Airport is the main hub for Shandong Airlines and a focus city of China Eastern Airlines. The flight paths linking Qingdao with Shanghai and Beijing are frequent. If you arrive in Beijing or Shanghai in the morning or in the afternoon, you even do not have to book the flight ticket to Qingdao ahead. Depending on the season, last minute tickets may be sold at discount, however this is definitely not the case during the busy summer months when buying in advance is advised.
International destinations include Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Seoul (Incheon), Busan and Frankfurt (via Shenyang). Qingdao also has flights to Hong Kong and Taipei. Asiana Airlines serves Qingdao twice daily from Incheon airport.

The airport is 32 km (20 mi) from the city proper, about half an hour taxi ride. Prices for a taxi ride from the airport to the Hong Kong Middle Road area should be between ¥120-140 depending on the route taken (The National Highway 308 is slower but cheaper, the toll expressway is faster and more expensive) and time of day (more expensive at night).

There is an Airport Shuttle Bus. Once per hour 05:40-20:40, takes about an hour, costs ¥20 (pay before leaving the arrivals hall and receive a ticket). All stops are announced in English as well as Mandarin. The rendezvous point is in front of the airline hotel at 77 Zhongshan Lu (中山路)

If you are travelling from within Shandong Province, going by bus is probably the easiest way. Especially now with the new excellent and fast expressways linking Qingdao with other cities in the province. There are several buses per day from Jinan, Taian, Qufu, as well as Yantai and Rizhao on the coast. They leave from and arrive to the bus station just outside the train station(Qingdao Railway Station Tourist Bus Station), but also from the new bus station north of town, which can be reached by local trolleybus number 5 in 20 minutes.
As of December 2010, the meter rate for normal taxis starts at ¥9 while the larger cabs start at ¥12, plus a ¥1 surcharge due to rising petrol prices. The meter is based on both distance traveled and time taken. If you take a taxi to or from the airport, and use the Qingyin expressway there will be a ¥10 rate added to whatever the meter price is.

During the summer months that are the peak tourist season, taxis may be hard to flag down. If ever you get one of the larger taxis, the drivers will usually be delighted to give you their business card, so that in the case of planned travel to somewhere like the airport or train station, you can avoid the hassle of trying to flag down a cab.

Qingdao has some wonderful beaches worthy of visiting. Unfortunately, litter is a problem at all of them, ranging from the occasional cigarette butt to having to wade through a flotsam of trash just to get into the ocean itself. Your experience will vary depending on the tides and the time of year you visit. During summer weekends, Qingdao city beaches are very crowded (sometimes upwards of 100,000 people), and slightly less crowded on summer weekdays. Again, these can be packed full of people during the weekends. Bring sunscreen, while you can buy beach toys, food, drinks, and knick-knacks at any of Qingdao's beaches, surprisingly no one sells sunscreen at the beach itself. You can find bathing beaches all along the seaside from the Zhanqiao Pier to the Shilaoren Beach in the eastern suburbs.

Laoshan Beach, (Close to the Qingdao Museum, about a 60 min drive from the train station. Bus 104, 230, 231, or 301 to Qingdao Museum Stop). Surrounded by mountains and visited far less often than its alternatives, Laoshan Beach is one of the best in town. Make sure to arrange transportation there and back, because taxis are harder to get there.
Old Stone Man Beach, Donghai E Rd and Haikou Rd(Bus 125 or 321). daily. One of the best beaches within easy striking distance of the city. It is cleanish, very long and broad, with the highest waves. Tables, chairs, tents, boats, shower, changing facilities etc. are available for rent. Free; Shower and changing ¥10 at the cheapest. Locker additional ¥10 + ¥30 deposit.
Beach #1, Nanhai Rd(¥15-20 in taxi from the center; numerous buses stop near bus stop Haishui Yuchang. Daily. Clean and full of amusement for children but often crowded. Very basic shower and changing facilities available. Surrounded by restaurants and hotels. Free. ¥5 shower and changing facilities.
Beach #2, Shanhaiguan Rd (¥10-15 in taxi from the center; numerous buses stop at Wusheng Guan a bit N of the beach). Quiet beach. ¥2 in summer.
Beach #3 (City Beach). Has a "plastic island" so you can swim far away and have a rest before coming back (but it is sometimes exhausting to swim in the waves).
Beach #6 (Muscle Beach). Not very clean. ¥5 basic shower and changing facilities.

Huangdao (黄岛). Providing there isn't persistent fog as is often in the area, one can take a ferry from Qingdao port to the neighbouring district of Huangdao. A new bridge and a new tunnel both opened in 2011 linking Qingdao and Hunagdao. Tunnel buses are available. The city has mostly been built in the last 10-15 years and thus is completely devoid of character. That said, there are plenty of Japanese hostess bars, and a few Western drinking holes too, if you get tired of Qingdao's fare. The ferry prices generally range from ¥15-30 one way, but be advised that if the ferries aren't running the taxi fare is 200RMB+ back to Qingdao.Bus 1 (or Tunnel Bus) travels from QingDao to HuangDao in about an hour for 1 yuan. It starts at Qingdao bus station, and there are several each hour. Buses stop running relatively early. Buses use cash/coin or bus card (refillable).
Seafront walk. Walk along the sea front in the evening from Beach 2 back into town to 6.

Taidong Pedestrian Street (Taidong Buxingjie). The best area for buying stuff. Very "renao" (bustling), especially at night when the peddlers come out and you can buy all manner of trinkets, clothing, household wares, etc. While in Taidong be careful of the pickpockets.
Central Hong Kong Road, (stretch of Hong Kong Rd between Fuzhou. and Nanjing Rds). To provision yourself, head out to this area. Carrefour sells grocery, food, and small electronics. It has a KFC. Jusco is part shopping mall, part grocery store and part department store. MyKal is an eight floor department store with a movie theatre on the top and a grocery store in the basement. Sunshine is a department store across from Carrefour that sells upmarket goods. The Hisense shopping centre located behind Jusco has many luxury goods stores, and a grocery store with possibly the best selection of western foods in Qingdao.
Jimo Lu market. Do not miss this market, a great place to buy knock off Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton as well as local retail goods. Recently refurbished and opening new shops across the street in a new plaza, it will soon become one of Qingdao's most popular retail markets.
Zhong Shan Lu. Recently retrofitted for 2008, still boasts some of the oldest shops in Qingdao.

Head to Yunxiao Road west of Fuzhou South Road for a large selection of restaurants of all Chinese varieties ranging from the local Shandong style, to Cantonese and Sichuan. Yunxiao Road is recognized as Qingdao's restaurant street, and serves up a wide variety of mouth watering dishes. Minjiang Road, near Fushou South Road (bordering on Qingdao's restaurant district), has several outstanding restaurants. The area is booming with foods from around the world.

Being Qingdao, you can expect to find, well, copious amounts of fresh Tsingtao. The brewery was founded by Germans during colonial times. Every August there is a beer festival (check the listing in the "Do" section). Many European breweries participate. One of the neatest things about Qingdao is the ability to purchase fresh from the factory draft beer almost anywhere. You will often see kegs sitting outside most restaurants and snack stores. The beer is sold by weight (asking for "yi jin" gives you 500 g, or half a litre), this will be served to you in a plastic bag! There are also numerous beer gardens where you can sit and drink from glasses, one glass of fresh beer ("san pi") only costs an incredible ¥1.5. The Tsingtao "san pi" is some of the best Chinese beer you can get. Don't worry, it's served cold.

Qingdao's nightlife scene continues to evolve. The Jiangxi Rd. strip located downtown near Hong Kong Middle Rd. continues to have more and more bars. There is also a new development called Zhonglian Plaza located at Nanjing Rd and Ningxia Rd, that offers many large Chinese-style clubs. Karaoke (KTV) is very popular activity amongst the locals. There are a few western style club/discos in the Hong Kong Road area close to the Jusco. Thanks to the very large Korean expat population, there are many Korean style bars. Most of these bars can be found in the Hong Kong Gardens area.

Mini Hotel  - although it's 13 kilometers away from the downtown area, it's 1 to 2 km to Qingdao North Train Station. True to its name, the rooms here are indeed mini - composed of two floors, the first floor is the bathroom and you climb a ladder to your bedroom. Easily one of the most unique hotels in China. It's also a kindly family-run business, with the owner himself having designed the rooms. Also serves pizza. Discounted rooms can go for 100RMB.

Generally, Qingdao is a very safe city although the general travel advisories such as keeping your bag close, not flashing large amounts of money and using common sense are always advised. Violent crime or serious thievery is not a common problem.

Stairs from the path leading
to the top of Laoshan

Located a 60 min bus ride east of downtown, Laoshan (Mount Lao) boasts a 2100-year-old Dao temple (Taiqing Gong) and is a must see for the Qingdao area. Often credited with being one of the temples that gave birth to the Dao way of thought, the Laoshan temple is tucked just between the mountains and beach. You can wander the temples or take one of the many paths winding up and around the mountains to enjoy the view, see waterfalls or listen to the tales of the ancient snake and other phenomena that haunt the Laoshan area.

Weifang is a city in Shandong province that is the home of China's International Kite Festival. Visitors can visit the Kite Museum where artists produce not only kites, but also New Year's Paintings, carvings, and other forms of art. The Museum also houses a Ming dynasty era home of a young family of historical interest. Vistors may also visit the historical home of a local landlord from the Ming Dynasty on Weifang's oldest street. The city is approximately 2 hours by car from Qingdao on the way to the coastal city of Yantai.