The German old town — a sea pier, a spired church and an old market
Walk Zhanqiao Pier out into the bay · photograph St Michael's Cathedral on its plaza · ride the Signal Hill viewing tower for the whole carpet of red roofs · shop Zhongshan Road and graze the street food at Pichaiyuan market · finish the evening on No.6 Beach.
Start the first day at the symbol of Qingdao — Zhanqiao Pier, a 440-metre stone pier reaching out into the middle of Jiaozhou Bay, built back in 1892, with the octagonal Huilan Pavilion (回澜阁) and its red-tiled roof at the tip, the image everyone pairs with the city. Walk out to the very end for the morning sea breeze and the old-town skyline curving along the bay — this is the picture that has been on the Tsingtao beer label for more than a hundred years. Free, and a lovely easy stroll.
From the pier it's about a 10–15 minute uphill walk into the old town to St Michael's Cathedral, a Romanesque-Gothic Catholic cathedral the Germans finished in 1934, its twin 56-metre spires rising at the end of the street. It's the most popular photo spot in the city — wedding couples shoot their pre-wedding photos here all day — and you can go inside (a small fee), where the vaulted ceiling and stained glass are beautiful. The cobbled lanes around the church are a delight to wander.
Grab lunch in the old town first — the area is full of Shandong restaurants, seafood places and cafés in old buildings; try a local dish or read up on Qingdao Shandong cuisine to go with it. Then walk up Signal Hill, a small hill in the middle of the old town topped by three red mushroom-shaped viewing towers, the upper one a 360-degree revolving deck that turns a full circle in about 30 minutes. Look down on the sea of red-tiled roofs of the old town set against the blue water — this is the view that has sold Qingdao postcards forever, and one of the prettiest on the trip.
Come down from the hill toward Zhongshan Road, Qingdao's oldest shopping street, lined with century-old European buildings running down to the sea, with old shops, small department stores and local sweet shops — a lovely stroll for the architecture alone. Right nearby is Pichaiyuan market (劈柴院), a food alley dating to 1902, a warren packed with street-food stalls: grilled oysters, grilled squid, boiled dumplings and all sorts of Shandong snacks. Graze your way through it — it's good fun.
In the evening it's a short walk from the old town down to the sea — No.6 Bathing Beach sits right at the foot of Zhanqiao Pier, a small, soft-sand beach in the bay with the pier as its backdrop, and the golden evening light on the water is gorgeous; locals come out to sit by the sea here all the time. If you've still got the legs, walk a little further east along the shore to No.1 Bathing Beach, a longer stretch of sand and the most popular swimming beach in summer. For an overview of every beach, see the Qingdao beaches guide.
For dinner on the first night, head back around the old town / Zhongshan Road, or grab a seafront table — Qingdao is a city of fresh seafood and fresh beer. Order the spicy stir-fried clams (辣炒蛤蜊) that go hand in hand with a beer table, alongside fresh Qingdao seafood and fresh Tsingtao poured into a plastic bag the local way; or browse the full Qingdao food guide. Figure on ¥80–200 per person.
