May Fourth Square

The main civic square on Qingdao's southern seafront, anchored by the striking red sculpture "May Wind" — a giant steel coil that has become the emblem of modern Qingdao. The square opens directly onto the bay, with views across to the cranes and container ships of the port.

On fine days the square fills with kite-fliers, couples posing for photographs, and groups of retirees doing morning exercises. The waterfront walkway extending east and west from the square connects the main beach areas, and the sailing centre for the 2008 Beijing Olympics sits just to the east. An evening walk here, with the square lit up and the bay glittering, is one of Qingdao's pleasures.

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The square is named for the May Fourth Movement of 1919, triggered when student protesters in Beijing demonstrated against the Treaty of Versailles, which transferred Germany's Shandong concessions — including Qingdao — to Japan rather than returning them to China. The protests ignited a generation of nationalist and modernist activism.

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