Once a quiet fishing village, China’s port city of Qingdao is a fast growing metropolis, one of China’s most livable cities and an attractive tourist destination for young, adventurous travelers. Trawling through social media sites, there are plenty of impressive sites for thrill seekers. Let us know if we’ve missed any!
On the rocks
Bouldering is a form of rock climbing on large boulders, without the use of ropes or harnesses and Qingdao is quickly becoming one of China's most popular bouldering destinations for global adventurers. This photo by Soho blogger Rocker shows why. Qingdao has a lot of nicely pitted boulders that tumble down from high mountains onto the picturesque coast of the Yellow Sea.
Something strange brewing
The global success of Tsingtao beer (using an old-fashioned spelling of Qingdao) is due to the expertise of German founders of the brewery, and the fresh spring water from nearby Lao Shan. The visitor center has a "Willy Wonka" style demented charm with boozing cartoon animals guiding you around beer-bottle shaped fountains and numerous free samples. If it's too early in the day for free samples, there's a "Drunken Room" that recreates the feeling of being sloshed with a gravity ignoring slanted room that is a lot more disorienting than it sounds! YouTuber Catherine Esser took on the room in high heels and had quite a trip!
Lao Shan cable car
The Lao Mountain of Qingdao has a peak, Jufeng, some 1,100 meters above sea level, the highest coastline peak in China. Lao Shan has incredible views with majestic peaks, perilous gorges and beautiful sea islets. Trip Advisor user mskullcap visited in September and captured this shot of a heart-quickening ride on the cable car. He uploaded another great shot from a lookout and recounts that some visitors were rather too daring "A couple of nutters at the lookout thought it would be a good idea to step over the razor wire and railings to take more daring photos of themselves on a rock overhang." Yikes!
See food and eat it
Many restaurants in Qingdao show off tanks of live seafood to diners who can chose what looks good on the day. Instagram user ckirezci was amazed by this king crab being fetched by a hard-working waiter and snapped this shot.
According to CNN Travel, a trip to Xiao Gang Pier is best for the adventurous seafood lovers, who can buy from fishing boats selling their catch directly from their creaking decks.
Beer from a bag
A number of Flickr based photographers seem to be more thrilled by drinking beer from a plastic bag than taking in Qingdao's famous sea views. Why? Well, the city has a number of street vendors selling beer from kegs which they pour directly into a plastic bag and sell by weight. It’s such a utilitarian approach to alcohol retail it’s almost dazzling. And, though selling by weight removes the problem of paying good money for an overly frothy head, it presents a challenge – you can hardly leave half a bag of undrunk Tsingtao in your fridge so, will you be able to finish it?
Flickr credits:
Toru Mino: www.flickr.com/photos/torumino/2588335781/
Gregory Franklin: www.flickr.com/photos/claustrophonic/1959355147/
Toffler Ann: www.flickr.com/photos/tofflerann/4980845753/