Laoshan 崂山区

Setting and landscape

The district has 95.7 km of coast, 32 islands, 11 bays and 17 rivers. The Mount Lao scenic area covers 446 square km; its main peak, Jufeng (巨峰), at 1,132.7 m, is described as the highest summit on China's 18,000 km mainland coastline. The granite peaks have weathered into shapes the scenic area calls a 'natural sculpture park', and stone from here was used for the main body of the Monument to the People's Heroes in Beijing. The steep relief creates contrasting microclimates: the Taiqing Palace area on the southern foot is nicknamed 'Little Jiangnan', while Jiushui (九水) on the north side is 'Little Guandong'.

History

Under the Western Han the area lay in Buqi County (不其县), and from 596 it belonged to Jimo County. In 1898 the Sino-German Jiaozhou Bay lease put the Laoshan area south of the Baisha River (白沙河) and west of Zhuantaling (砖塔岭) under German control. Laoshan County was set up in 1961 and became a district of Qingdao in 1988, before the new Laoshan District was formed in 1994.

Mount Lao is described as a major birthplace of Taoism. Taiqing Palace (太清宫), founded in 140 BC, is the ancestral temple of Laoshan Taoism, and Qiu Chuji (丘处机) and Zhang Sanfeng (张三丰) are among the Taoists said to have practised here. Li Bai (李白) wrote of having 'dined on purple mist' on the mountain.

What to see

Mount Lao has been a national key scenic area since 1982 and is a 5A scenic area. Its seven core zones are Liuqing (流清), Jufeng, Taiqing (太清), Huayan (华严), Yangkou (仰口), Jiushui and Hualou (华楼).

On the city coast, Shilaoren (石老人), an 18.3-metre sea stack said to look like an old man sitting in the sea, gave its name to a national tourist resort set up in 1992 that includes the Shilaoren bathing beach (石老人海水浴场). The stack's upper part collapsed on 3 October 2022; its legend entered Shandong's first provincial intangible heritage list in 2006. Qingdao Polar Ocean Park (青岛极地海洋公园), a 4A park opened in 2006, has five halls, among them a polar ocean hall and a jellyfish hall with a 360-degree tunnel.

Food and local products

The coast is known for abalone and the clam called xishi tongue (西施舌). Other local products include Laoshan tea (崂山茶), bracken (拳头菜), Wanggezhuang steamed buns (王哥庄大馒头) and Beizhai cherries (北宅樱桃); Beizhai (北宅) is called China's home of cherries. Laoshan mineral water is the water source of Tsingtao beer, and Yangkou Bay yields a green stone called 'sea-bottom jade' that is carved into ornaments.