10 Things to do in Qingdao That You Shouldn't Miss

May 18, 2021 Jacquiline Delozier

Qingdao ([tɕʰíŋtàu]; also spelled Tsingtao) is a city in eastern Shandong Province on the east coast of China. It is the largest city in its province. Administered at the sub-provincial level, Qingdao has jurisdiction over six districts and four county-level cities. As of 2014 Qingdao had a population of 9,046,200 with an urban population of 6,188,100. Lying across the Shandong Peninsula and looking out to the Yellow Sea, it borders Yantai to the northeast, Weifang to the west and Rizhao to the southwest.
Restaurants in Qingdao

1. Laoshan Scenic Area

Laoshan Scenic Area Dedicated Road, Laoshan District, Qingdao 266100 China +86 532 8889 8866 http://www.qdlaoshan.cn
Excellent
48%
Good
39%
Satisfactory
11%
Poor
1%
Terrible
1%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 1,055 reviews

Laoshan Scenic Area

One of China's most celebrated scenic areas, Laoshan presents a panorama of mountains, cliffs, waterfalls and temples.

Reviewed By Sillypiggys - Sydney, Australia

Snow capped peaks in winter! Perfect time to visit with barely any visitors. Spectacular views from the top! Great for hikers. We caught the 104 bus which starts at Taidong and travels down to the Xianggang West and Xianggang East Road (the West road becomes the East Road) along the coast until you reach Laoshan about 35km away. The cost is RMB3 from Taidong (terminus) to the Tourism Office of Laoshan. You just hop on and the ticket lady will tell you the correct fare to pay her. You need to book your tickets to the Laoshan scenic areas at the Tourism office before entering the park. Cost is RMB120 pp (low season) and RMB90 for students. Peak is RMB150 and RMB105 respectively. We then took one of the private driver’s offer of RMB300 for the day and she took us along the coast to see the Frog Rock, Laozhi statue, a look out to the Tea plantation and then Huayan Temple where we did a hike for a 1.5 hour round trip up the mountain. The temple was only 20mins walk up. We started at 10am and returned to Taidong around 6pm. The bus trip was 1hr in the morning (no traffic) but 2 hrs on the way back (peak weekday traffic). The private drivers speaks virtually no English and will try to take you to tea houses to sample teas and coerce you to buy or encourage you to eat at one of the restaurants. They won’t force you so gently decline if you are not interested. Note: there are no food options other than these restaurants so bring snacks or eat a good breakfast before you head out!!

2. Badaguan Scenic Resort

Huiquanjiao East, Shinan District, Qingdao 266000 China
Excellent
52%
Good
36%
Satisfactory
11%
Poor
1%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 739 reviews

Badaguan Scenic Resort

Reviewed By lingolewi101 - Melbourne, Australia

Definitely a must if you are coming to Qingdao. Along with most of what's on trip advisor's app, apart from the beer city. That's only in the summer of August. Badaguan is like a small zone of the city, easy to get to with 1 yuan buses. Also beautiful view of the beach and blue houses, I feel Qingdao hasn't even hit it's peak yet, plenty of construction everywhere we went. The castle was cool! A few wedding photos were taken during our visit there, and only 8.5 yuan entry fee! But definitely get there early, the line was about an hour long! Unsure of opening times

3. Qingdao Site Museum of the Former German Governor's Residence

No.26 Longshan Road, Shinan District, Qingdao 266000 China +86 532 8286 8838 [email protected] http://www.qdbyg.com
Excellent
45%
Good
39%
Satisfactory
15%
Poor
2%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 179 reviews

Qingdao Site Museum of the Former German Governor's Residence

Reviewed By 390ScottM - Tacoma, United States

A very European museum, furnishings, and architecture in the middle of China. It was a fantastic house and loved learning about the rich history.

4. Qingdao Beer Museum

No.56 Dengzhou Road, Shibei District, Qingdao 266023 China +86 532 8383 3437 http://www.tsingtaomuseum.com/index.htm
Excellent
43%
Good
43%
Satisfactory
13%
Poor
1%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 897 reviews

Qingdao Beer Museum

Reviewed By deanosaur89 - Edmonton, Canada

The museum was very well thought out and they have lots of memorabilia saved from decades of operations in Qingdao. I enjoyed the museum at the beginning of the self guided tour with its many advertisements, export records and bottle collection (everything from 1903 to KFC). The museum also goes through a thorough history of German ownership, Japanese era, Chinese takeover and modern day expansion. Tsingtao may not be the best beer but the beer museum was a lot of fun, well maintained and clean. Halfway through the tour there is a little pub where you can grab a small beer and a bag of honey roasted peanuts just after the history area. After the small pub there is the vats and bottling areas. Three quarters the way through there is a large gift shop which had some well made Tsingtao novelties, boxes of beer and ice cream (which included a beer flavoured ice cream which was pretty good). After you pass the gift shop there is the 1903 restaurant where you can grab another free beer. The regular ticket price was 50 RMB which includes two 200 ml beers and 1 bag of peanuts. There are quite a few different ticket prices which you could pay for depending on your inclination to drink Tsingtao at the beer museum. An option that seemed like an ok deal was spending 80 RMB to get the regular admission plus a 2 L bag of beer. We saw a few couples where one purchased the 80 RMB ticket and they split the beer at the restaurant at the end using the small glasses. There were other tickets which included a pint glass, beer flights or other souvenirs. If you don't get the extra beer but decide you want more during the tour it will cost double for the beer bag (60 RMB) during the tour. You could also get beer in a bag for pretty cheap at a plethora of restaurants accross the street from the beer museum. In addition to the displays and beer there is a nice open area between the museum and the brewery to take pictures. We would recommend this museum if you want to learn a bit about Qingdao's history, beer history in China or are a fan of beer. We figured the closest metro is Lijin Road but it is a bit of a hike from there. Didi is cheap in Qingdao and the drop off is "Tsingtao Brewery Museum - Ticket Office".

5. Qingdao XiaoYushan Park

No.24 Fushan Slip Road, Shinan District, Qingdao 266003 China
Excellent
55%
Good
35%
Satisfactory
10%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 98 reviews

Qingdao XiaoYushan Park

Reviewed By ROCruiser - Claremont, United States

It seemed like we were the only ones there on the day we visited. This is an excellent spot to see Qingdao from higher up. We did climb up to the top of the pagoda and it was a wonderful view of the older section of the city. With fewer visitors one can really enjoy the serenity and sight.

6. Qingdao Zhongshan Park

No.28 Wendeng Road, Shinan District, Qingdao 266000 China [email protected]
Excellent
41%
Good
43%
Satisfactory
13%
Poor
2%
Terrible
1%
Overall Ratings

4.0 based on 216 reviews

Qingdao Zhongshan Park

Reviewed By lpkc - Kozhikode, India

Must visit place while in Qingdao, especially for foreigners if you want to see a variety of Chinese flora including cherry blossom and other beautiful flowers.

7. May Fourth Square

Donghai West Rd, Qingdao 266071 China
Excellent
0%
Good
0%
Satisfactory
0%
Poor
0%
Terrible
100%
Overall Ratings

4.0 based on 858 reviews

May Fourth Square

Reviewed By 128ronh - San Francisco, United States

If you are lucky, you can enjoy a breathtaking night view of Qingdao's skyline from May Fourth Square. They don't turn on the lights everyday, so check beforehand.

8. Olympic Sailing Center

Pu'ning Road, Shinan District, Qingdao 266002 China
Excellent
39%
Good
41%
Satisfactory
19%
Poor
1%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.0 based on 269 reviews

Olympic Sailing Center

Reviewed By ROCruiser - Claremont, United States

This was the first spot we stopped at on our private tour of Shandong. Enjoyed a relaxing stroll along the oceanfront promenade even on a summer day. It just felt nice with the sea breeze and nicely designed piers. A pleasant visit indeed.

9. Golden Beach (Huang Dao)

Jinshatan Rd, Qingdao China
Excellent
45%
Good
33%
Satisfactory
19%
Poor
2%
Terrible
1%
Overall Ratings

4.0 based on 252 reviews

Golden Beach (Huang Dao)

Reviewed By mary23es - Shijiazhuang, China

Enjoyed the beautiful beach even though it was cold out. The sculpture park beside it was nice to walk around in as well

10. Qingdao Catholic Church

No.15 Zhejiang Road, Shinan District, Qingdao 266001 China
Excellent
35%
Good
44%
Satisfactory
18%
Poor
2%
Terrible
1%
Overall Ratings

4.0 based on 421 reviews

Qingdao Catholic Church

Reviewed By Sillypiggys - Sydney, Australia

Beautifully preserved Bavarian architecture. Large plaza which is great for wondering around and spending a bit of time to take in the surrounding. A contrast to the traditional Chinese cities. If you wander through the streets, you will see other colonial buildings from the German settlement past. We went on a weekday in January so there wasn’t much of a crowd.

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