City Introduction

Qingdao (former name Daocheng and Qindao), is located on the southeast coast of the Shandong Peninsula and east of the Jiaodong Peninsula. It borders on the Yellow Sea in the east and south, facing Korean Peninsula across the sea. Qingdao is a sub-provincial city and municipality specifically designated in the state plan, and has a state-level Qingdao West Coast Economic Zone.

 

 

 

 

History and Culture

Qingdao is a famous historical and cultural city, as well as the birthplace of Taoism in China, where human survival and reproduction can be traced back to 6,000 years ago. The second largest town — Jimo in Shandong region was established here as early as the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. After the unification of China, First Emperor of Qin visited Langyatai (located in now Qingdao Jiaonan) for three times. Xu Fu, a notable necromancer in the Qin Dynasty once set sail from Langya Mountain towards Korea and Japan. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty once "enshrined the god in the Jiaomen Palace" at Buqi Mountain (now Chengyang District of Qingdao), and set up nine halls of enlightened rule at Nvgu Mountain by the Jiaozhou Bay for worshipping the god and ancestors.

In the Late Qing Dynasty, Qingdao had developed into a prosperous town, formerly called Jiao'ao. On June 14, 1891, the Qing Government dispatched Zhang Gaoyuan, Commander-In-Chief of Dengzhou to Qingdao Port, marking the foundation of Qingdao City. Following that, the Qing Dynasty army built forts in Qingdao, and there are still remains in Qingdao Mountain. After the World War I, Britain, the United States, France and other countries convened the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 that transferred the sovereignty of Qingdao and rights and interests of Shandong to Japan regardless of the Chinese people's strong opposition, therefore, the great "May Fourth" patriotic movement in the modern history of China broke out.

In memory of the movement, Qingdao built the May Fourth Square which has become a new symbol of Qingdao. In December 1922, China and Japan signed the Treaty to resolve unsettled issues on Shandong and the Annex, and on December 10 of the same year, the Northern Warlord government officially recovered the sovereignty of Qingdao. After the victory over Japan, Qingdao was taken over by the KMT government and became a naval base which has been developed into a navy museum. "Qingdao", formerly refers to Little Qingdao (also Qindao), gained its name for "the beautiful mountain and lush tree" on the island. According to the ancient books and records that have been discovered, the name of "Qingdao" can be traced back to the middle period of Ming Dynasty, enjoying a history of over 400 years.

Qingdao features numerous historical sites and former residences of celebrities, including Langyatai that First Emperor of Qin's visited for three times and where Xu Fu set sail toward Korea and Japan, Tianheng Island where five hundred righteous men were buried in the Western Han Dynasty, Tianzhu Weibei known as a treasure of stone carving, ruins of the Great Wall of Qi in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period, and geologic wonder Stone Forest in Ma Mountain, etc. There are former residences of noted figures including Kang Youwei, Wen Yiduo, Lao She and Wang Tongzhao.

 

 

 

 

Natural Environment

Qingdao is located on the west bank of the Yellow Sea in the Pacific Ocean, facing North Korea, South Korea and Japan across the sea. The city stretches in latitude from 35° 35' to 37° 09' N and in longitude from 119° 30' to 121° 00' E. The north longitude 120° passes through the west bank jurisdiction area of Jiaozhou Bay, and Qingdao is within the East eight time zone as a whole. The city occupies a total land jurisdiction area of 10,654 square kilometers and maritime area of about 13,800 square kilometers. Qingdao is the largest hinterland in Shandong province because all other cities on which it borders are under the jurisdiction of Shandong Province. It borders three prefecture-level cities, namely Yantai to the northeast, Weifang to the west, and Rizhao to the southwest.

 

 

 

 

Climate

Qingdao has a temperate, four-season, monsoon-influenced climate, featuring "moist air, abundant rainfall, moderate temperature and four distinct seasons". And its four seasons are characterized by "late spring, cool summer, invigorating autumn and long winter". It has a small annual range of temperature and mild extreme temperatures. In the summer half year, the southeast monsoon from the Pacific brings a lot of warm moist air that causes rain heat over the same period in Qingdao, showing characteristics of maritime climate; while in the winter half year, monsoon comes from Eurasia, Qingdao is under the control of cold high pressure air mass, showing dry air and low temperature and proving characteristics of continental climate. The regulation of sea on the climate of Qingdao mainly bases on the close distance of Qingdao to the sea and the vertical crossing of coastal mountain to monsoon direction. From the point of climate characteristics, Qingdao enjoys a harmonious proportion of sunlight, heat and rainfall over the same period, boasting a high degree of effectiveness and availability, and annual average frost-free period of 203 days. Qingdao's climate differs slightly on a larger scale, and significantly on a smaller scale. Drought (mainly spring drought) is the worst natural disaster that Qingdao has undergone, and the others include occasional hails, high winds, rainstorm and thunder and lightning.

 

 

 

 

Useful Information

Road transportation: Qingdao has been benefiting from its developed road transportation. So far, the city has built Jinan-Qingdao, Jiaozhou Bay, Xiliu, Shuangliu, Weilai, Qilai and Qingdao-Yinchuan highways. Qingdao Railway Station square launches IVECO buses to Weihai, Yantai and Penglai. The bus to Yantai only takes some three hours (ticket price: RMB 30), and those to Weihai and Penglai only take some four hours (ticket price: RMB 40). These highways have excellent conditions. To Jinan, you can take bus No.5 to the Long-distance Bus Station where there are Jinan-Qingdao highway buses that take only 4.5 hours to get to Jinan (ticket price: RMB 120). Most of long distance buses leaving Qingdao for cities in and out of Shandong Province depart in the morning and those to county-level cities depart once all seats are sold.

Standard and luxury taxis in Qingdao charge fares according to the mileage (in unit of 500m). Waiting and traffic jam time when the speed is lower than 12 kilometers per hour is charged extra fare of 1 kilometer (excluding empty run fare and night fare, the same below) for each 5 minutes during this time period. For cumulative time exceeding the first five minutes, extra fare of 1 kilometer will charged for every 3 minutes, and no charge for a time period less than 3 minutes. Notes: For many tourists, taxi in Qingdao is suspected of running round. In fact Qingdao's traffic has its own characteristics that there are many one-way streets. In a street, you may see four lanes on one side and one bus lane on the other side. This is to improve the traffic speed and ease traffic pressure. Knowing this will help to avoid a lot of disputes. Tour bus: Special tourism line is the most convenient for sightseeing in Qingdao and air-conditioning tourism line is the most comfortable one. Three tourism lines are all equipped with senior luxurious air-conditioning minibus (28-seat Xiamen Golden Dragon vehicle). Tour guide service is provided in the whole journey. You can take bus No. 304 to visit Laoshan (Taiqing Scenic Area), passing the ferry and railway station (landing stage) and Laoshan. The bus runs by the sea in the whole journey. Of course, you can also take the one-day tour of Laoshan, and many hotels can make reservation for you. However, most of tourist groups only visit the Taiqing Scenic Area. If you are interested in Beijiushui and Yangkou Scenic Area, please take the special tourism line at 7:00 to 10:30 in the morning at Huaneng Square.

 

 

 

 

Tourism Service Number

Maritime distress: 12395

Traffic service: 0532-82817777

Railway Station Information Office: 0532-95105175、0532-86011111

Railway Station Reservation: 0532-95105105 (RMB 1 per minute) 0532-82975022, 0532-82962777

Long-distance Bus Station Information Office: 0532-83718060

Qingdao Port Information Office: 0532-82825001

Ferry Information Office: 0532-82619279

Jinan-Qingdao Highway: 0532-87860848

Jiaozhou Bay Highway: 0532-85621175

 

 

 

 

Notes

Clothing: Take clothes that are able to dry quickly to Qingdao. Qingdao features a humid air that is unfavorable for clothes to dry; Qingdao is cool even in the summer, so you should prepare some long-sleeved clothes in advance. Bathing suits and shorts should also be prepared ahead of time in order to play with water on the beach and in the sea. Shoes: Tourists traveling to Qingdao are suggested to prepare two types of shoes: Sports shoes for climbing or long journey; and waterproof flat sandals. A lot of people wear slippers in Qingdao because they are more relaxed and convenient, and good for walking on the beach. Sunscreen: Qingdao is relatively cool in summer, but sunscreen, sunglasses, sun hat or umbrella should also be prepared in advance to avoid sunburn on the beach. Medicine: Enjoying seafood is a must in Qingdao. You should choose restaurants with good sanitary conditions to try the local seafood. In addition, tourists can prepare some medicines for gastroenteritis and allergy for unexpected needs.

 

 

 

 

Festivals(Important/Historical/Folks Ones)

Tianhou Palace Temple Fair of Folk Custom

Time: January 1 to 30 of the lunar calendar

The activities include bell-ringing ceremony on the New Year's Eve, giving red waist belts and small gifts to persons of this animal year, folk custom photography contest, solicitation of "Spring Festival" couplets, lantern riddle contest, Chinese and foreign famous cock-fighting, dart prize contest, "people joy" folk art exhibition, "sea worship" folk performance, folk paper-cut contest, lantern show, folk belief worship, etc. Tianhou Palace is located on No. 19 Taiping Road. You can take bus No. 6, 26, 311, 312, 314, 316, 321, 501, 801 and 802, and get off at the Daxue Lu Stop.

Qingdao Radish Festival

Time: January 9 to 15 of the lunar calendar

According to Qingdao folklore, eating radish on January 9 of the lunar calendar can prevent toothache and all diseases. The local Taoist temple Yunxi Nunnery is well known for its big crisp radish, and consequently radish became the staple goods on the temple fair which is also gradually known as a "radish festival". You can enjoy radish artistic carving contest and folk handicraft making contest at the festival which has become an influential folk festival following the Spring Festival for local citizens. You can take bus No. 2, 5, 21, 24 and 305 and get off at Huangtai Lu Stop.

Haiyun Nunnery Sugar Ball Fair (Qingdao Haiyun Nunnery Tangqiu Fair)

Time: January 16 to 18 of the lunar calendar

Haiyun Nunnery Sugar Ball Fair has evolved from the temple fair of Haiyun Nunnery as there are many hawthorn sugar balls for sale at the fair. This yearly event was resumed in 1986, which lasts for three days. During the fair, you can enjoy various kinds of folk art performances including Mao Opera, shadow play, juggling, paper-cut, New Year pictures, yangko contest and gong and drum contest, as well as large square cultural and artistic performance, special local opera performances, photography contest, painting and calligraphy live performances, martial arts performances, etc. Haiyun Nunnery can be reached by taking bus No. 1, 5, 7, 15, 32, 206, 210 and 319.

Qingdao Cherry Blossom Fair

Time: Early April to early May

The cherry blossom in Zhongshan Park is the most distinctive scenic area in downtown Qingdao, which has been long known as the "Dongyuan Sea of Flowers". These are all Japanese cherry blossoms in terms of variety, with someiyoshino (single sakura) as the majority. The flowering period of Qingdao cherry blossom lasts from April 10 to 25 for half a month. While the double sakura can flower until May 1, 10 days later than the Japanese cherry blossom. You can take bus No. 604 and 605, and get off at Zhongshan Park Station.

China Qingdao Ocean Festival

Time: Late June to middle July

Qingdao Ocean Festival is the only festival in China with an oceanic theme. Launched in 1999, it has been held in July every year since then. Relying on the beautiful ocean scenery belt, Qingdao Ocean Festival utilizes the advantages of Qingdao as the "China ocean science and technology city" and gathers the essence of modern festivals. During the festival, you can enjoy the opening ceremony, ocean science and technology, ocean sports, ocean culture, ocean tourism, ocean food and closing ceremony. It is a splendid landscape in Qingdao in July.

Qingdao International Beer Festival

Time: Opens on the second Saturday of each August and lasts for 16 days

The festival is the grandest beer party in Asia, integrating economy and trade, tourism and culture. Hundreds of beer of world-known brands from dozens of countries and millions of tourists from around the world attend the festival every year. Major activities during the festival include opening ceremony, beer tasting, carnival entertainment, float parades, cultural and sports activities, beer drinking contests, tourism and leisure, economy and trade exhibition and closing ceremony, making the festival a fun-filled summer event.