Where the Badaguan–Huiquan area is — and why it's the quietest, most classic corner of the city
Plenty of people come to Qingdao and pour all their time into the old town and Zhongshan Road, never realising that just a few bus stops east lies an area with a completely different mood. If you want Qingdao at its quietest and most refined, head to Badaguan (八大关) and Huiquan Bay (汇泉湾) — a seaside-villa quarter in the Shinan (市南区) district that runs from tree-lined streets down to the sand and the curve of the bay. This is the side of Qingdao for walking slowly, breathing slowly and taking beautiful photos.
The area has two parts. The first is Badaguan, the "Eight Great Passes", where each street is named after a famous Chinese frontier pass or fortress (Shanhaiguan, Jiayuguan, Ningwuguan). Scattered across it are more than 200 historic European villas of many nationalities, earning it the nickname "the museum of world architecture". What people love is that each street is planted with a different species of tree, so they take turns being beautiful through the year. At the seaward end of Badaguan is Huashi Villa (花石楼), a stone castle people call the "Chiang Kai-shek villa". The second part is Huiquan Bay and the No.1 Bathing Beach (第一海水浴场), the most famous in-city beach in Qingdao.
Picture this — an area where you stroll under the shade of the trees photographing old villas in the morning, sit by the sand in the late morning, drop in at a stone castle for photos by the waves in the afternoon, then walk the bay at dusk watching the sun on the water. Badaguan–Huiquan does all of it within easy walking distance. That's why we love steering couples, photographers and anyone who wants a relaxed seaside break here — sea air without elbowing through the crowds.
