This week I am finally having my first visitors from home. My mom is coming to Qingdao for a short week. And before she arrives, I had so sit down and think about all my favourite places that I want her to discover. Not as easy as one might think, since Qingdao is huge and I only have 4 days to introduce her to the city I already fell in love with.
Here is my list of sights that no one should miss during their time in Qingdao:

1. May Fourth Square

Located right next to our office the May Fourth square and the modern area around it is one of my favourite places here in Qingdao. It is named after the May Fourth Movement, a nation wide cultural and political movement that started in Qingdao. The best time to go is on a sunny afternoon when the air around is filled with lots of colourful kites.

2. Marina City and the Olympic Sailing Centre

The whole area around the Olympic Sailing Centre is definitely worth a visit. With an area of 45.000 square meters being reconstructed and built up for the Olympic games in 2008 the whole costal area around Marina city is the most modern one in Qingdao. I love the long pier with the flags of every nation that lead to the little light house from which you can enjoy the view on Qingdao’s skyline.

3. Old Town

If my visitors make their way to old town, I want them to discover the two famous churches. The Catholic Church and the Christian Church.  Once you had your first glimpse on the architecture it is hard to believe that you are still in China.

4. Badaguan District

The Ba Da Guan District is next to the beautiful costal area of Qingdao. It is the former residential area of the Germans and quite small with eight streets only. Latest by the time you escaped the big city and find yourself wandering through tree alleys next to nice architectural buildings Qingdao will have you captivated.

5. Taidong, Ji mo lu and shopping in general

But of course Qingdao has not only nice architecture and the sea to offer. There are lots of possibilities to spend your money on nice things. A Fake market in old town for Prada bags, New Balance sneaker, sunglasses and whatever you desire, the unique night market at Taidong and my favourite little market next to Crowne Plaza where I buy Zara clothes for a quarter of the real price if I am lucky.

But its not only the shopping for clothes, bags and shoes that my visitors have to experience. The shopping for food is quite an adventure itself. My favourite place to buy food in Qingdao is the little market on Dayao 3 Lu, next to where I live. The mass of fresh vegetables, sweet fruits, delicious meat, and freshly caught fish is hard to describe and definitely needs to be discovered by them.

Even though these nice sights are a good start to introduce my beautiful Qingdao to visitors, there is so much more for them to discover. And 4 days could never be enough in such an amazingly diverse city.

Part two – Qingdao Mountains and beaches is coming soon!

Do you want to discover Qingdao and its surroundings? Apply now for your internship in China and become part of the InternChina community!

Taidong Picture: https://www.myredstar.com/top-5-markets-qingdao/
Badaguan Picture: https://scenery.cultural-china.com/en/20Scenery11688.html