Qingdao - Qingdao

Qingdao (Chinese: 青岛 / 青島, Green Island - also:Tsingtao) is a major city in east China's province Shandong.

Districts

The city consists of the following districts:

• Shinan (市南区 = "Südstadt")
• Shibei (市 北区 = "North City")
• Sifang (四方区)
• Huangdao (黄岛 区)
• Laoshan (崂山 区)
• Chengyang (城阳区)
• Licang (李沧 区)
• Jiaozhou (胶 州市)
• Jimo (即墨 市)
• Pingdu (平度 市)
• Jiaonan (胶南 市)
• Laixi (莱西 市)

While the new town consists of high-rise buildings, you can still find many houses from the colonial era in the old town.

background

getting there

By plane

Qingdao has an airport (3-letter code TAO) outside the city (approx. 40 minutes by car / taxi). There are several flights daily from Beijing (Flight time approx 1h). There are also direct flights from e.g. Tokyo.

By train

From Beijing, Qingdao can be reached by express trains within four to five hours. The ticket costs from 250 yuan. Qingdao - Shanghai Hongqiao in 6 hours for about 500 yuan. Most major cities can be reached by fast D- and G-class trains. A train ticket on the express train to Jinan costs about 130 yuan (first Class).

By bus

In the street

By boat

There is a ferry connection to South Korea (Incheon). The ferry to Japan was discontinued in 2015, although many current travel guides claim otherwise.

mobility

In the street

The road traffic in Qingdao (as in China in general) can be described as chaotic. Since the traffic is usually not particularly dense, a rental car is definitely a good option.

taxi

Taxis are arguably the primary form of transportation for non-residents in Qingdao. The taxis are reliable and the drivers actually always use the taximeter. Less on long journeys. For Europeans, taxi prices are affordable. Only metered taxis should be used. It is best to book a taxi from the hotel, set the price, switch on the taximeter. On the way back to the train station, go to other hotels and choose a taxi. Your own hotel may then be able to normalize the price. It is best to take a navigation system with you. Be sure to take Chinese texts / business cards of the objects to be visited with you (and not hand them in).

By bus

There are several bus routes in and around Qingdao. Fare is 1 yuan each way, regardless of the destination. You pay by putting the money in a box in front of the driver. The buses are equipped with screens. You get out by going to the exit, there are no "stop" buttons or anything like that.

Tourist Attractions

• Aquarium. The layout is very reminiscent of the aquarium in Kuala Lumpur. Not recommended, but not "terrible" either. There are the usual things (small aquariums with fish etc), a large column-like aquarium and a "tank" through which one is led through a tunnel on a treadmill and the fish can be viewed "from below".Price: RMB 100.last change: Aug. 2016 (information may be out of date)
• In the old town there is a hill with a worthwhile lookout point.
• A stroll along the coast. Shows the city skyline as well as many sports enthusiasts.
• there are various old German buildings that are still in use today

activities

• Swimming: There are some (well-frequented) beaches. Shi Lao Ren Beach (石 老人 海水 浴场) is most likely to be recommended for beach visits in Qingdao. It is a bit out of the way (about 20 minutes by taxi from the city center), but is a beautiful sandy beach and has comparatively clean water. On the beach there are sun loungers and tents to rent and drinks and snacks can be bought.

• Motorboat: Motor boat trips to see the city from the sea are for RMB 100 / person and take about 30 minutes. Boats go with groups of 5 people each (if you have a smaller group, you have to pay for all the seats. You should definitely negotiate the price.)

• Qingdao Beer Museum. If you would like to know how this brew is made, which is probably the most popular (and best) beer in all of China, you should plan half a day for a visit. Then it goes through the souvenir shop for a beer tasting.last change: not specified

• Qingdao International Beer Festival. The Beer Festival takes place every year in August - numerous international breweries (the locally produced tsingtao must of course not be missing) are on site with tents. The festival is extremely well attended, but it is usually so loud in the tents that you cannot talk. This Chinese version of the Oktoberfest can hardly be compared with the Munich original. Anyone expecting a familiar beer tent atmosphere could be disappointed.last change: not specified

shop

kitchen

nightlife

The area near Qingdao University (青岛 大学) is ideal for a bar evening. There are some western style bars there. The audience consists mainly of Chinese and (foreign) students. That would be mentioned here Charly's and the Lao Fei Jiu Ba (老 非 酒吧) in a street parallel to Ningxia Lu. There is a barbeque for the hungry just around the corner.

If you still want to dance, that's it Ye Chao Bar (夜 超） highly recommended. The mood and ambience are great and essentially corresponds to the typical Chinese style. However, as is so often the case in Chinese clubs, the music is very western and limited to the international charts of the last 10 years. Order a bottle of whiskey with iced tea, which makes a surprisingly delicious mixed drink VV Club and to find various bars as well as a KFC.

Those who prefer it to the west are at home in Q club, the in-house club of the Shangri-La Hotel. Upscale atmosphere, often live music and lots of foreigners.

accommodation

• Shangri-La. We recommend.Price: from 100 €.last change: not specified

Learn

There are a number of schools and universities in Qingdao. The best known include:

• Qingdao University. （青岛 大学) Municipal university with an affiliated Goethe Institute.last change: not specified

• Ocean University Of China. (中国 海洋 大学) State university in the middle of the city.last change: not specified

Work

security

Most of Qingdao is very safe and you don't have to be afraid of crime. Exceptions are pickpockets at the train station or at other major events.

health

Practical advice

trips

Lao Shan Mountains

The rugged, but still largely forested granite mountains rise about 20 km east of the urban development of the metropolis of Qingdao. It serves as an excursion destination close to the city. The National park in the mountains is also a well-known travel destination in eastern China. Although the mountain range is only about 20 x 20 km, the highest point is 1133 m high. As a result, the Lao Shan acts as a rain catcher and you can find some streams, waterfalls and reservoirs as water reservoirs in the mountains, unless there is currently a drought. On the east coast, the Laoshan Mountains drop steeply to the Yellow Sea.

The highest point, the "Lao Shan", is very well developed for tourism. The mountain is accessible from the south via a cable car with 2 sections. Furthermore, hiking trails lead to the mountain. On the western slope of the mountain you will find an imposing suspension bridge in the middle of a wild granite landscape at an altitude of about 950 m. this is on the hiking trail in front of the middle station of the cable car to the driveway, which opens up the mountain from the west. It is very likely that the driveway is closed to motorized individual traffic as there is no large parking lot in the summit area of ​​the mountain and the area is a national park. Northwest of the mountain you can find a large parking lot in the valley near "Gualaocun" in the aerial photo from Google Maps. There is a park entrance to the national park at a height of about 300 m. From here you can only continue on foot. From the parking lot, the concrete road meanders over 12 km through the mountain forest to the summit of Lao Shan. On the way you always have beautiful views, or you can sometimes make short detours to lookout points. By the way, the mountain is a sacred mountain of the Taoists. So you can always find monasteries in the area of ​​the mountains.

Information on small mountain hiking trails on the Lao Shan is not available. With data as of 07-2011, Openstreetmap is still largely empty in the area of ​​the national park. Aside from the much-visited Loa Shans itself, there are in the mountains, but probably also various other hiking mountains between 600 and 800 m altitude, as the numerous hiking pictures on Panoramio show.

According to Wikipedia in Lao Shan, the tourist attraction is also the Daoist Taiqing Temple ("Palace of the highest clarity"). In front of the rugged east coast one can also find the Xu-Fu Island. Information about the Lao Shan can also be found here on the German page of China Radio International.

literature

Web links

• http://english.qingdao.gov.cn - Qingdao Official Website