This article is about the China vacations and Qingdao travel. You can find some useful information in it if you are planning your Qingdao travel now.

Qingdao, best known in the West by its postal map spelling Tsingtao, is a major city in eastern Shandong province, China. Qingdao today is a major seaport and industrial center of Shandong province. "Qing" means "lush" in Chinese, while "dao" means "island". This city was recently named China's 9th-most livable city by the China Daily.

German fort at Qingdao in 1898. In 1891 the Qing government decided to make the area a defense base against naval attack and eventually began to improve Tsingtao’s existing fortifications. This Chinese activity was observed and reported by German naval officials during a formal survey of Kiautschou Bay in May 1897. After the Tsingtao region was ceded to Germany in 1898, the German authorities soon turned Tsingtao into a strategically important port administered by the Imperial Department of the Navy (Reichsmarineamt) rather than the Imperial Colonial Office (Reichskolonialamt). The navy based their Far East Squadron here, allowing them to conduct operations throughout the Pacific. From January 1898 the marines of III. Seebatallion were based at Tsingtao. The German imperial government planned and built the first streets and institutions of the city we see today, introduced electrification, a sewer system and a safe drinking water supply; commercial interests established the world-famous Tsingtao Brewery. German influence extended to other areas of Shandong Province, including the establishment of diverse commercial enterprises.

Eat:

The Beer Street is very famous in Qingdao. It is located in the Dengzhoulu Street ( close to the Tsingtao Brewery). This street is not a broad one but you can find lots of good restaurants and bars here. I recommend the Meidaer Barbecue. Lots of people like this restaurant. The price is reasonable and the service here is not bad. You can find the unique plasmogen beer here ( only 30 rmb for a mug of beer ). The Tsingtao Brewery provides fresh plasmogen beer to the restaurants in this Beer Street every day and this is why the beer you can get here tastes so good. (good info for your China vacations)

See:

(1). The Eight critical junction (Badaguan) of Qingdao was built by the German and you can find all kinds of architectures here: Russian, German, Japanese, etc.

Eight critical junction ( Badaguan ) fine scenery, attracted the numerous new people to come here to photograph the nuptial dress to illuminate, the blue tree, the sand beach, the villa, the beautiful woman, formed a nice contrast, too beautiful to behold, caused that the pedestrian poured the foot in abundance.

There are many famous villas here but now the only one villa open to the travellers is the Huashilou (flower and stone villa). The cost is 5 rmb. You can see the beautiful beach and sea from this place. To get here, you can take the Line 15, 26, 202, 228 city buses (helpful info for your China vacations).

(2). Qingdao Beer Museum: It is a very interesting place in Qingdao. You can take the Line 15 city bus here. The cost is 50 rmb. Why so expensive? Because you can have free beers in it, :-) In this museum, you can see lots of pictures about the history and producton of the Tsingtao beer. I like the old TV advertisements here. In one advertisement, it said that the Tsingtao beer can cure the beriberi. :-)

Some tips for your Qingdao travel:

(1). Qingdao is a city near the mountain and you will not find many people riding bikes ( like other cities in China) here. The public transportation systems are very convinient in Qingdao. Not like other crowded Chinese cities, it is easy to find seats in the Qingdao's city buses (costs only 1 rmb for one person).

(2). The flag-fall price of the taxicab here is 7 rmb and you will need to pay 1.2 rmb for every kilometer.

(3). A Qingdao map can be very helpful for you. (especailly for the first time travellers to Qingdao)

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