In Qingdao, human activities was found as early as 7,000 years ago, the neolithic age, and Langyataiand the Great Wall of Qi Dynasty existing today that were built in the 5th century BC, are respectively the oldest observatory and Great Wall in China. In addition, Qingdao is also one of the birthplaces of Taoism in China. The famous poet Li Bai of Tang Dynasty, the Song Dynasty writer Su Shi and the Qing Dynasty litterateur Pu Songling all left their footprints here ever.

Since modern times, Qingdao's superior geographical and resource advantages have attracted worldwide attention. In the late nineteenth century, Richthofen, a German geologist, proposed that Qingdao should be taken as a gateway to the whole Chinese market. Then in 1897, Qingdao was occupied by Germany. In 1919, triggered by the recovering of the sovereignty of Qingdao, the May 4th Movementbroke out as a watershed of China's modern and contemporary history. In the early twentieth century, China's first automobile, bicycle, highway and modern urban drainage system appeared in Qingdao which made it one of the most greatly and systematically influenced cities by western culture in the early days. In its rapid rise as a famous trade port in the Far East, Qingdao developed an urban culture characterized by the blending of the East and the West culture.