Top 10 Things to Do in Qingdao

There are originally 8 roads in the area named after 8 famous passes of the Great Wall of China, so the scenic area is called Badaguan which means eight passes in Chinese. Badaguan Scenic Area is a well-known villa district in China, regarded as the “World Architecture Exhibition”. First built in 1930s, it has more than 200 architectures with architectural style of more than 20 countries like Russia, England, France, Germany, America, Japan, Denmark, etc. And various trees have been planted along the street, such as peach blossom, crape myrtle flowers and ginkgo. So each season is suitable for travel and tourists can take nice photos easily. Touring the scenic area has been a must thing to do in Qingdao for both architecture enthusiasts and photographers.

Zhan Bridge is the oldest artificial wharf for military use in Qingdao. The bridge is 440 meters (480 yards) long and 8 meters (9 yards) wide. At the south end of the bridge is an octagon architecture called Huilan Pavilion with two floors of ethic style. Standing beside the architecture, tourists can see the rolling waves coming near which is known as one of the “Top 10 Qingdao Scenery”. Besides, tourists are able to have a general view of the crescent Qingdao bay and the surrounding scenic spots in the pavilion. Afterwards, take the tourism boat on the bridge to reach the Small Qingdao Island to get even closer to the sea. The area at the north of the bridge along the riverside has been developed into a park where tourists can watch the sea scenery and have a rest.

As a landmark of Qingdao, May 4^th Square is named according to a political movement about Qingdao happened on May 4^th, 1919. The square is composed of north and south districts. The north district is the central square connecting to the city government building. The south district is a seaside park by Fushan Bay where stands the most representative sculpture of the square shaped like spiraling wind in red color. There are 81 underground fountains in the square which can spray in different shapes and heights. And 160 meters (175 yards) away from the seashore on the sea is the first sea fountain in China. At night, the water column is like a silver silk and the moisture can cover the whole square.

Mt. Laoshan is located by the Yellow Sea and is the highest mountain in China’s coastal line, known as China’s most famous mountain on the sea. It not only boasts marvelous natural beauty, but also is the birthplace of Taoism, so most travelers list it as one of the top things to do in Qingdao. The 18 islands along the sea constitute the magnificent scenery of Mt. Laoshan. The main peak of the mountain is surrounded by the cloud. When the sun rises and the sunshine beams get through the cloud, the scenery is regarded as the most fascinating. Taiping Palace on the mountain is the largest and most ancient architecture of Taoism. It is also the best place to watch the bright moon over the sea at night.

Since Qingdao is a seaside city, sea bathing is definitely one of the top things to do in Qingdao. Used to be the largest bathing beach in Asia, Qingdao No.1 Bathing Beach has a length of 580 meters (634 yards) and a width of 40 meters (43 yards). The sea water is clear with less waves, the sand is soft and the terrain is plain. It can accommodate tens of thousands tourists at the same time. Except bathing in the water or just enjoying sun lying on the beach, tourists can also play beach volleyball or experience water sports like Jet Ski and speed boat.

First built in 1903, Qingdao Beer Museum is the only beer museum in China and a first class beer museum in the world. It has three tourism zones. The first one displays the origin, culture and long history of Qingdao Beer and China’s beer industry through pictures and documents. The second exhibition hall shows the development of beer brewing technology by comparing the old and modern equipment and brewing process. And in the last zone, tourists can taste the freshest and most authentic Qingdao Beer and buy some as souvenir. No matter for regular tourists or beer lovers, the travel is surely unforgettable.

Located in Fenghuang Island, Golden Sand Beach is about 3,500 meters (3,800 yards) long and 300 meters (330 yards) wide. Reputed as the No.1 beach in Asia, it is also the largest beach in China with the softest sand and the most fascinating scenery. Tourists can play beach volleyball or beach soccer, take a beach plane, and ride a speedboat, water bike, or hovercraft. Also, there is an amusement park for children. What can’t be missed here also include the three most famous seafood: sea cucumber, abalone and crab. Besides, each year from July to August, there is a cultural and tourism festival when both domestic and international celebrities are invited to attend. At that time, concert, competitions of beach volleyball, sand sculpture and other activities are held. Suitable for both children and adults, Golden Sand Beach tour has been a top thing to do in Qingdao.

Polar Ocean World has 36 exhibition halls, covering polar region, children’s amusement park, interactive science area, technology museum, undersea tunnel and so on. The most attractive is the largest polar maritime animal hall in China which also has the most kinds of polar animals. There are white whales, penguin, polar bear, arctic wolf and other thousands of rare sea animals. And excellent performances by white whale, dolphin, sea lion and other animals are undoubtedly worth watching. Tourists are also able to touch the animals and learn some knowledge about them.

Qingdao is famous as Sailing City, so visiting Olympic Sailing Center is surely one of the top things to do in Qingdao. The two main architectures there are the Olympic Torch Sculpture and Sailing Boat Sculpture. In the scenic area, tourists can also visit the magnificent international conference center, watch performance in the shell-shaped theater or see the exhibitions of sailing competitions in the museum. In the afternoon, taking a boat to cruise on the sea is highly recommended. The captain not only tells some basic knowledge of the boat but also teaches basic sailing skills. And tourists can see the beautiful sunset on the sea. 

St. Michael's Cathedral in Zhejiang Road is in the Gothic and Roman architectural style. It is first built in 1932 with a height of 56 meters (184 feet). Above the front door is a colorful rose window from which the sunshine can shoot into the church, and on each side of the door stands a bell tower with four bells in whose sound can be heard in miles. The hall inside the church is available for 1,000 people to say mass at the same time. There are also murals of holy pictures painted on the roof of the hall.