Visit Qingdao Ying Binguan, an imposing palace perched on a hill overlooking the city, which served as the former German governor’s residence as well as a onetime holiday destination of Mao Zedong.
Eat local specialties like braised prawn with cabbage or minced meat and sea cucumber at the Haidao Seafood Restaurant, just one of the many eateries on the Yunxiao Road seafood strip (86-532-8597-3057).
Drink the local pride, Tsingtao beer, still going strong 104 years after the Germans built the original brewery here. Visits to the brewery and museum are open to tour groups only (tsingtaobeer.com).
Cruise around Qingdao Bay by boat for a view of the coastline, including six beaches. Tours leave from near the Zhan Bridge (Zhan Qiao), home of the distinctive eight-sided Huilan Pavilion.
Climb nearby Lao Shan (Old Mountain), a Taoist retreat and the source for the spring water that goes into Tsingtao. Take the cable car for stunning sea views.
