Meeting Qingdao on a private tour with lunch

Situated in the east of Qingdao City of Shandong province, Badaguan Scenic Area occupies an area of more than 70 hectares and is renowned as a building group of distinctive exotic architectural styles in China. It is named after eight famous military forts and consists of eight streets (10 streets now). It was a villa area for bureaucratic capitalists before liberation. The full reformation and improvement in this section by Chinese government after liberation has evolved it into a wonderful tourist attraction and a resort for making holidays. Badaguan Scenic Area is characterized by the fantastic mixture of garden scenery and courtyard beauty. Thick green trees are everywhere and gorgeous flowers of four seasons capture every sight of visitors. A wide range of architectural styles can be found here.

Qingdao is regarded by some Chinese as one of the most beautiful and clean cities in China. It has a population of around 3.5 million (8 million regional) and is the largest city in Shandong Province. The name Qingdao means The Blue/Green Island. In 2012, Qingdao was named China's most livable city. While Qingdao has a long history, the eastern half of the city has been built since 1993, and there is no sign of it slowing down. In 2008, it hosted the sailing events of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Qingdao is an ideal destination if you want to combine sea-side fun with your trip to China. Qingdao does not have swarming markets, unpredictable traffic and intense street commerce. The city is relatively clean and orderly and might give the impression of an upcoming wanna-be Singapore.

Qingdao Beer Museum, which lies on the old site of the Tsingtao Brewery Company, which is a world-famous manufacturing enterprise special in brewing. German Beer Company Qingdao Branch established in 1903, China’s first brewing factory that built with European technology was the predecessor of the Tsingtao Brewery Company. At present, the Qingdao Beer Museum owns 55 brewing factories and malt factories in 18 cities and provinces in China. The one-hundred-year old Tsingtao Beer has created its own history and culture.

Xiaoyushan Park is one of the best scenic spot along the seaside of Qingdao, though the hill is not high, it has marvelous vision, overlooking the Huiquan Bay and other scenic spots like Zhanqiao Pier, Little Qingdao Isle, Lu Xun Park and Badaguan (Eight Passes) Scenic Area. From the top of the hill you can see beautiful landscape featuring red tile, green tree and azure sky and blue ocean. Built in the Chinese classical style, the hilltop park is named after the Yu Hill, which adds to the glamour of the Huiquan Bay. Its main buildings include Lanchao Pavilion (Tide Viewing Pavilion), Yongcui Pavilion (Green Groue Embedded Pavilion) and Bibo Pavilion (Pavilion for Viewing Blue Ripples).

Located in the industrial city of Qingdao, the Qingdao Ying Binguan or Qingdao Guest House was home to the governor general of Germany. It now serves as a museum housing artifacts of the time as well as a great collection of Chinese paintings and artifacts, some as old as the paleolithic age. Built in 1905, the building is renowned for it's architectural uniqueness as the style used is now rare. Visitors can also see artifacts from the time the governor general lived in the house. Prominent among these is a Grand Piano. A good museum to study the history of Qingdao.

Zhanqiao pier is located at the southern shore of Qingdao off Zhongshan Road. This now 440 meter (1,443.6 ft)-long strip stretches into the sea and was the first wharf at Qingdao. An octagonal pavilion called the Billowing Back and Forth Tower (Huilan Pavilion), loosely translated, stands at the end of the pier and was constructed in 1930. The pier itself was started in 1891 and frequently enlarged. Zhanqiao Pier appears on the label of the Tsingtao Brewery beer bottles and the front of cans.