The 10 Best Free Things to do in Qingdao, Shandong

May 22, 2021 Leida Jutras

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. 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

2. Tangdao Bay

Binhai Avenue Southern, Huangdao District, Qingdao 266510 China
Excellent
55%
Good
45%
Satisfactory
0%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 22 reviews

Tangdao Bay

3. Qingdao Taiping Cape Park

Taipingjiao Second Road, Shinan District, Qingdao 266071 China
Excellent
49%
Good
35%
Satisfactory
16%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 49 reviews

Qingdao Taiping Cape Park

4. Qingdao International Sailing Centre

Fushan Bend, Shinan Sistrict, Qingdao 266071 China
Excellent
43%
Good
51%
Satisfactory
5%
Poor
0%
Terrible
1%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 37 reviews

Qingdao International Sailing Centre

Reviewed By Soko37 - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Living close by and ☔️ and windy ???? afternoon. Nice walk in marina with very little people, normally the place is crowded with visitor and restaurants or cafes are full. Fresh air going around. This time you need to have green health code to get in. You can see whole downtown from lighthouse

5. Qingdao Chinese Marine University

No.5 Yushan Road, Shinan District, Qingdao 266071 China +86 532 8203 2666
Excellent
58%
Good
31%
Satisfactory
12%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 52 reviews

Qingdao Chinese Marine University

6. MIXC Shopping Mall

No.6 Shandong Road, Shinan District, Qingdao 266000 China +86 532 6862 1177 http://www.qdmixc.com/
Excellent
62%
Good
27%
Satisfactory
10%
Poor
0%
Terrible
1%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 52 reviews

MIXC Shopping Mall

Reviewed By Sillypiggys - Sydney, Australia

Largest MixC mall in China. One of 3 in the world with an indoor rollercoaster. A huge modern mall with a lot of activities for young to older kids with an indoor rollercoaster, Olympic size skating rink, half basketball court and a really interesting supermarket on B1. I saw a Thomas the Tank Engine train travelling through the mall on L4!! There are also a large food court and restaurants on L5 and a few more restaurants at the basement level. Plenty of high end retailers and various international retailer brands including ZARA, H&M, Adidas etc.

7. Zhanqiao Pier

No.12 Taiping Rd, Shinan District, Qingdao 266001 China +86 532 8288 4548
Excellent
34%
Good
39%
Satisfactory
24%
Poor
3%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.0 based on 872 reviews

Zhanqiao Pier

This 440 meter (1,440ft) strip that stretches into the sea was built in 1891 and was the first wharf in Qingdao.

Reviewed By jameshuang - Taipei, Taiwan

Zhanqiao Pier (棧橋) is close to the Qingdao Railroad Station (青島火車站) and is only 1.1 km (0.68 mi) away by walking. It located at the southern end of Zhongshan Road (中山路) and stretches into the sea. It is the most popular destination in Qingdao not because it is right in the city center but because of its unique type of attraction and the history behind it. The original 200 m (656 ft) long and 10 m (33 ft) wide stone base pier was built in 1892 during the Qing dynasty (清朝) about the same time the Qingdao established. It was the oldest pier for military use in Qingdao. Later it became a freight pier after Germany invaded in 1901, and the length was extended to 350 m (1,148 ft). The local government replaced the steel and wood construction to cement, extended the length again to 440 m (1,444 ft), and added a two-story octagonal Huilan Pavilion (迴瀾閣) on a newly half-round shape platform on the south. We planned on going to Zhanqiao Pier after we checked into the hotel, but the weather was foggy with rain. Therefore, we went to other attractions first. We ended up going to the site last by walking on the trail along the coastline. It was still rainy and misty. From the distance we saw lots of tourists walking on the pier on the Tuesday afternoon. We decided to find a place and waited for the rain to stop. We picked a window seat and ordered drinks plus chicken nuggets. The foggy rain didn’t look like it would stop soon; therefore, I decided to go by myself. It was around 4 pm, and tourists still kept coming. Zhanqiao Pier doesn’t look 10 m wide, but it looked sturdy with giant granite foundation compared to the wooden structure piers I have seen in the US. It is a wonderful place to see old and new buildings in the area as well as the Little Qingdao Isle (小青島) and the German colonial architectures. If you like water sports, you can find speed boating, water-skiing, windsurfing, parasailing, snorkeling, water-scooter, motorboat rides, yachting, etc. The nearby No. 6 City Beach also a popular spot. Most people come here just to stroll and enjoy the sunrise or sunset. Although we were here on a misty day, it is a nice and lovely place to visit. You don’t need to prepare anything special to visit here. Of course comfortable shoes are better than high heels. From here you can go to Little Qingdao Isle which is only 2.3 km (1.43 mi) away, and you can enjoy the beautiful bay while strolling along the seaside trail. If you can, don’t go there during the weekend to avoid the crowd.

8. Qingdao Beach

No.11 Jingshan Road, Shinan District, Qingdao 266003 China +86 532 8281 5639 http://www.qdseaside.cn/
Excellent
29%
Good
46%
Satisfactory
22%
Poor
2%
Terrible
1%
Overall Ratings

4.0 based on 94 reviews

Qingdao Beach

9. Qingdao Beer Street

Dengzhou Rd Nearby, Shibei District, Qingdao 266023 China
Excellent
24%
Good
41%
Satisfactory
25%
Poor
8%
Terrible
2%
Overall Ratings

4.0 based on 225 reviews

Qingdao Beer Street

Reviewed By Albert_Teo77 - Singapore, Singapore

If you like seafoods best to visit here. You can enjoy both Qingdao beer,tea and seafoods here. Varities seafoods here. Some fresh alive and tender. Just opposite Qingdao beer factory

10. 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.

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