Qingdao's Street Markets
Ask any traveller that has been to Qingdao what stood out to them, and almost every time you will get the same answer: “the markets”. With such a vast range of items on sale, from food you didn’t know was food to all items of clothing, to eye-catching ornaments, Qingdao’s street markets truly have something on offer for everybody. In the settings of these markets, not only is the vast array of goods staggering, but the cultural differences between East and West are immediately evident. Some differences are subtler, while others may jump out at you (quite literally in the case of the live clams that spurt water onto the street).
To a large degree, visiting Qingdao’s markets is the best way to experience first-hand the traditions of Chinese culture. The many museums and historical sites in Qingdao do offer an intriguing insight into the city’s unique history, however Qingdao’s markets provide a truly cultural experience like you would never have had before. Coming away from the Westernised metropolitan areas of Qingdao with a trip to the old town’s markets is the perfect opportunity to see and taste the fusion of traditional Chinese food with more modern flares. Street vendors offering waffles in a cone adjacent to another selling starfish on a stick is something you would never find in London or Paris.
Taidong Night Market
Located on TaiDong 1st Road near Tsingtao brewery, TaiDong night market, or ‘TaiDong San Lu’, runs from around 5:30 pm until about 10:00 pm. The market covers a huge area, and has a wide range of goods on offer, from food to clothes. Known as the “walking street”, TaiDong is a centre of both shopping and entertainment in Qingdao. In the daytime, there are a range of larger shops like Wal-Mart or Liqun Department Store. Come night time, TaiDong San Lu transforms into a veritable shopping mall, with bargains on every corner. The picture opportunities are as plentiful as the goods themselves, as the streets are decorated with thousands of colourful LED lights, advertising everything on offer. TaiDong San Lu is the closest thing to the interpretations of busy Chinese streets and markets that are shown in many Western films and TV shows. The market and surrounding shopping area is one of the most booming and bustling parts of the city, with 100,000 visitors coming to shop there every day. Though it is often easy to get swept up in the grandeur of the night market can be, it is always sensible to exercise a relative amount of caution with your belongings, despite Qingdao being a much safer city than many in the West. The TaiDong night market is, of course, the perfect place to buy souvenirs of your trip for your loved ones at home!
Pichai Yuan Food Market
Throughout the city of Qingdao, there is no shortage of street food vendors offering both traditional Shandong cuisine and western-styled cakes and treats. However, Pichai Yuan offers the best variety of different foods all concentrated on one street, which is extremely easy to get to. As it is located in Qingdao’s old town, the market street was originally constructed in the early 1900s during the German occupation of the city. In 2007, it was reconstructed to reflect its historical past, whilst still maintaining the classically European architecture that is the hallmark of Qingdao old town. As well as amazing food, Pichai Yuan offers great charm. With an array of colourful foods and signs, this market street is truly a photographer’s paradise. Pichai Yuan is not only the perfect place to experience the hustle and bustle of city life in Qingdao, but to taste the world-famous fresh seafood that is Qingdao’s true speciality. The winding cobbled alleyways each have different things to offer, with surprises lurking around every corner.
Some of the food on offer is easily recognisable, being similar to what would be on offer in a western market. For those who desire to play it safe with their culinary choices, there is no shortage of flavoured chicken, prawns, potatoes or cakes… the only difference being that they’re usually all on sticks. Many of the foods on offer use rice as a , even the desserts. Glutinous rice puddings or sticky sweet rice cakes are particularly delightful. However, Pichai Yuan also caters for the culinary adventurous, who really want to push the boat out with what their stomachs can handle. A popular sight in many of Qingdao’s food markets, for instance, are Chinese sea urchins. The urchin meat is ed with egg custard, often with chopped vegetables on top. Particular sections of the market are certainly not for the faint-hearted too, offering star fish, spiders, crickets, sea horses and even scorpions to eat. Saying this, there’s no better way to fully immerse yourself into Shandong food culture, and to create a few stories for your friends and family back home! Another spectacle that is probably more light-hearted is the amazing liquid nitrogen ice cream that’s on offer in Pichai Yuan. This has become a big craze in China, and is a quick, five-minute method of created visibly spectacular steaming ice cream using liquid nitrogen at -200°C!
Jimo Lu City Market
When it comes to shopping for cheap clothes and accessories, Jimo Market certainly does not disappoint. The market is located on LiaoCheng Road near Qingdao Municipal Hospital and unlike the other markets, Jimo is indoors, which means you can happily enjoy what’s on offer no matter what the weather. Indeed, Jimo Market is the place to test your bargaining skills, as the art of a good haggle is essential to buying anything here. The building itself is spectacularly designed from the outside in the design of a traditional Chinese Taoist temple, which makes Jimo market extremely hard to miss. On the inside, the market is a multi-storey complex full of vendors that desperately try to grab your attention. The ground floor has a huge array of jewellery on offer. You will find a range of accessories made from jade and pearls, as well as watches and stationery. On the first floor you will find stall after stall selling different brands of shoes. As well as shoes, however, you will find backpacks, wallets and all different kind of bags. Lower floors contain more clothing, much of which is unbranded, so the upper floors tend to be the more popular ones. Although a good bargain can be found wherever you go in Jimo Lu! If you have a lot of spare time to browse and bargain, Jimo Lu has a lot to offer, and is the perfect opportunity to get souvenirs on the fly.
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