Beaches and beer served straight from the keg to a plastic bag - that's Qingdao. During the summer the Chinese flock to the seaside city to relax, sit on the beach, and search tidal pools for crabs and snails. In 2012 Qingdao was named China's most livable city but this was hard to imagine given that it's one of the dirtiest cities I've been to in China and has bus only public transit (a metro system line is scheduled to open in 2015). In late afternoon when people return to their hotels from the beach the buses become extremely crowded and get stuck in rush hour traffic. After spending a day in the clean, modern, and efficient Tianjin, it felt like a step down in Qingdao.
All that said...Qingdao was one of my favorite cities for a major reason - it's home to Tsingtao Beer, my favorite Chinese beer. What's uniquely beautiful about Qingdao is that every block has a storefront with twenty kegs in front selling Tsingtao Beer. You can just pull up a chair and get a cup filled up straight from the keg. Then neighbors would show up and order beer to go. I saw a kid under the age of ten show up, hand over some money, and walk away with a bag of beer. That's right a bag of beer. Instead of a to-go growler, the store where I was sitting would fill up the grocery store fruit/vegetable plastic bag (the one that you can never seem to open), spin then twist a knot at the top, and someone walked away with a night's worth of beer.
Most people come to Qingdao for its beaches.
All that said...Qingdao was one of my favorite cities for a major reason - it's home to Tsingtao Beer, my favorite Chinese beer. What's uniquely beautiful about Qingdao is that every block has a storefront with twenty kegs in front selling Tsingtao Beer. You can just pull up a chair and get a cup filled up straight from the keg. Then neighbors would show up and order beer to go. I saw a kid under the age of ten show up, hand over some money, and walk away with a bag of beer. That's right a bag of beer. Instead of a to-go growler, the store where I was sitting would fill up the grocery store fruit/vegetable plastic bag (the one that you can never seem to open), spin then twist a knot at the top, and someone walked away with a night's worth of beer.
Most people come to Qingdao for its beaches.
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Qingdao may have beaches but they are so crowded it can be difficult to see the sand - which makes for amazing people watching. The Chinese tend to be conservative in nature - at the beach women do not wear bathing suits and only go in the water up to there knees. Qingdao's beaches have numbers 1,2,6, etc. Beach Number 6 has a muscle beach area where the Chinese lift weights after leaving the ocean. There's an old German church that counts as an attraction too.
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When you visit places like Qingdao you will either have a great affection for the Chinese or they will drive you insane. I typically had a great affection. When you visit these beaches and there's so many people on the beach, to the point that you can't even spread out a blanket, you think it's crazy but then you see the Chinese and they all seem to have a smile on their face and are enjoying the moment.
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Qingdao's Old Town area had a few interesting dining options. One street is a dedicated barbecue. Another street has an open market where you can pick out live seafood then have a nearby restaurant cook a meal as you like it. While you are waiting on the meal you can grab a Tsingtao and relax.
For additional Qingdao photos see FLICKR ALBUM.