What's on in Qingdao (Tsingtao), China through the year

Busy — Winter break (around Chinese New Year) in China, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Spring Festival

  15–23 FebLunar New YearClosuresCrowded

  The sea is grey, the beaches are empty and the city goes quiet for a week while everything family-run closes. The Laoshan temple fair is the exception people go out for. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Spring Festival, Winter break (around Chinese New Year) in China

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Spring Festival (15–23 Feb)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in March.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  Sea fog season

  15 Apr – 15 Jul · usually

  Qingdao gets around fifty foggy days a year and most of them land in late spring, when warm air runs over a cold Yellow Sea. The promenade disappears and the sun does not come back until afternoon.

Busy — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

• Hazard

  Green algae bloom

  20 May – 15 Aug · usuallyAlgae & red tide

  Ulva drifts up the Yellow Sea most summers, peaks around June and comes ashore in a green mat that the city clears with diggers. Some years it barely shows; some years the beaches shut. Source ↗

Still on: Sea fog season (15 Apr – 15 Jul (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Sea fog season (15 Apr – 15 Jul (usually)), Green algae bloom (20 May – 15 Aug (usually))

Peak crowds — Beach season, Qingdao International Beer Festival

• Season

  Beach season

  1 Jul – 10 Sep · usuallySea warm enoughCrowded

  The water is only really swimmable for about ten weeks and the whole of northern China knows it. Number One Bathing Beach on an August Sunday is a solid mass of people.

• Festival

  Qingdao International Beer Festival

  17 Jul – 15 Aug · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  A month of beer tents on the West Coast site and in the old brewery district. Entry is free, the halls are not, and hotel prices across the city move with it. Source ↗

Still on: Sea fog season (15 Apr – 15 Jul (usually)), Green algae bloom (20 May – 15 Aug (usually))

Peak crowds — Beach season, Qingdao International Beer Festival

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Green algae bloom (20 May – 15 Aug (usually)), Beach season (1 Jul – 10 Sep (usually)), Qingdao International Beer Festival (17 Jul – 15 Aug (usually))

Busy — Beach season, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Beach season (1 Jul – 10 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — National Day Golden Week, National Day Golden Week in China

• Holiday

  National Day Golden Week

  1–7 OctCrowded

  Clear, cool and completely full. The German quarter and the Badaguan villas are the bottleneck rather than the beaches, which have gone cold by now. Source ↗

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in November.

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in December.