Tsingtao Beer Museum

Background

The Tsingtao Beer Museum is on Dengzhou Road in Shibei District, built on the early buildings of the Tsingtao Brewery, a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level. On August 15, 1903, German and British merchants in Qingdao funded the Germania-Brauerei, the forerunner of the Tsingtao Brewery and one of the earliest breweries in China still in operation today. The red-brick buildings on either side of the brewery's south gate show German Jugendstil influence: on the west is the former general office building, on the east the brewing office and production workshops, whose equipment was imported from Germany at the time. In 2003, the brewery's centenary, the museum opened, displaying the old buildings and the equipment and facilities from the brewery's early years as an industrial tourism site; it is now a National First-Class Museum and a national 4A tourist attraction.

Local customs

• Qingdao people have a unique habit of buying draft beer by the plastic bag and drinking as they walk
• the Dengzhou Road area is known as "Beer Street," and large kegs of fresh beer often stand outside the restaurants. During the Qingdao International Beer Festival each summer, Beer Street and the museum are especially lively
• many visitors taste unfiltered and draft beer in the museum after their visit, then head to Beer Street for seafood and draft beer.

Religion & beliefs

• The museum has no religious function. Qingdao's old town also has religious sites such as the Catholic church, the Protestant church and the Tianhou Temple
• if you go on to visit them after the museum, please follow their respective dress codes and service times, and don't enter places of worship after drinking.

Rules that apply here

Travel tips

• Allow 1.5–2 hours, or half a day if you eat on Beer Street. The museum is at No. 56 Dengzhou Road, Shibei District
• take Metro Line 2 or Line 3 to a nearby station and walk, or take a bus to the 'Tsingtao Beer Museum' stop
• taxis are also convenient, but parking nearby is difficult. Admission requires a ticket, and different ticket types include different beer tastings
• opening hours, ticketing and booking methods are as officially announced, and it is crowded during the beer festival and summer. Combine with: Dengzhou Road Beer Street and Taidong Pedestrian Street, and to the south the old town around Signal Hill, Badaguan and the Zhanqiao Pier. After tasting beer, take public transport or a taxi—do not drive yourself.