Shandong Province Travel Guide

The IYH in town is not at the most convenient location in town if you're looking for a place near the beaches and the railway station.  The rail station was under construction when I went, but there are a ton family run inns on the streets across the green space from the station.  They will try to take advantage of you at first with a high price, but stand firm, and you can get a decent price (Y40/single w/ AC).  Check out the facility first, but most likely it will be clean.  Which is a good price for being next to the railway station, the beach, and the long-distance bus station (there are plenty of sleeper buses to Beijing if there are no train tickets available).

Tai'an's hotels are kind of pricy given its size, and the cheapest places to sleep are on Tai Shan.  Outside the Taoist temple (which is the best Taoist temple I have seen in China, and possibly the best temple complex in eastern China) and Tai Shan, there isn't much else to see.  If coming from Shanghai, you will most likely get into town very early morning - which is good timing.  The Taoist temple opens at 7:30AM, will be empty, and the lighting is best during this time.  Also, you can dump your gear at the train station with the left luggage service.  It's cheap and allows you to carry a small bag of bare necessities for town and climbing up the mountain.

Moi qui pensait avoir compris en gros la structure des villes chinoises, je me suis pris une claque en arrivant à Qingdao! Très étrange impression. Déjà aucun vélo, les gens du coin ne savent d'ailleur pas faire de vélo (pour preuve mes amis de là bas), c'est le comble pour des chinois! Une ville "vallonée", pas vraiment de centre ville, il y'a les quartiers des anciens colons allemands (entre autre), la ville un peu 80', et la ville moderne. Beaucoup de coréens. Beaucoup de plages. Un air "pur" (relatif au reste du pays). La fête de la bière annuelle, qui niveau ambiance n'arrive pas à la cheville de celle de Munchen. Non loin les monts laoshan où on peut faire des balades sympas.