Qingdao is a summer resort on the eastern coast of China, the city plays a significant role in the development of China's economy. Qingdao is also well known for its long cultural history. The sailing events of the 29th Olympic Games were held in Qingdao in 2008. Qingdao's downtown areas feature architectural styles from Europe and Japan as well as many Chinese classic designs.



Qingdao Western Coast New Economic Zone
The New Qingdao West-Coast Economic Area will develop into a significant economic hub. The region will include administrative, financial, commercial, cultural and scientific research zones. The area will become a major shipping hub, with a strong marine-based economy. The urban framework and Dongjiakou port will be completed by 2015, and by 2020 the area will be a fully developed urban area with tremendous growth potential.

Huangdao District
The Huangdao District is connected to Qingdao’s main urban area by the 25.8 mile Jiaozhou Bay Bridge. The industries in the region include electronics, household appliances, building materials, petrochemicals, machinery, and pharmaceuticals. The region is a well-established economic zone and continues to grow every year. It is included in the Qingdao Western Coast New Economic Zone, so development in future years will ensure continued success in the district.

Pingdu Economic District
Pingdu is a county-level city with a population exceeding 1.5 million. The city has well-established graphite, gold, and talc mines. Additionally, the city is planning expansions into the mechanical parts, food processing, home appliance, and chemical industries by developing a industrial zone for each. These four zones along with the existing population and infrastructure will allow Pingdu to expand and prosper in the upcoming decades.

Jinjialing Financial Zone
Jinjialing is the new financial district in beautiful Laoshan, due west of Qingdao’s downtown area. The coastal district has convenient transportation, natural beauty, and all new, modern amenities.  3/4 ths of the financial institutions based in Qingdao have already purchased workspace in the new district.

Qingdao Ocean-based R&D Core Area
The Qingdao Ocean-based R & D Core Area, also known as "Blue Silicon Valley" is located in the Core area of North Laoshan, among the Laoshan Mountains; near the Yellow Sea Bay and The Aoshan River. The area has a total planned area of 443 Square kilometers, of which 218 sq kilometers are land and remaining 225 are sea. In January 31, 2012, the Qingdao Blue Silicon Valley District Core Committee was formally established, and the planning and Construction of the Core area of Blue Silicon Valley commenced. The planning and construction has focused on creating an incubator of innovation, science, and marine technology. The area features a highly centralized layout focusing on marine and oceanography research, education, and emerging hi-tech manufacturing industries. The zones have been developed in order to speed up the development of marine technology, increase local talent, gather high-tech industry, and to greatly enhance the independent Innovation. The Core Committee strives to build a first-class international marine science and technology R&D center, a marine Incubation center, a marine science and technology talent development center, a training center, and a groundbreaking ocean marine emerging industry intellectual property trading center. The area will become a innovative platform of global trade and technological development. Currently the key areas of the Blue Silicon Valley CoreArea are under construction. Additionally, the committee has approved 46 projects, of which 6 are under construction. The total Investment has reached 35 billion Yuan in 28 projects. The Qingdao Ocean-based R&D Core Area is already accelerating research across many marine technology fields and has demonstrated tremendous growth potential.

Laoshan District
The Laoshan District is just east of the main Qingdao city center, the region is famous for Mount Lao, The Qingdao International Beer Festival, beautiful beaches, a golf course, a stadium, and many museums. Additionally the District is home to Ocean University, Qingdao University Medical College, along with bio-medical, energy, and international industrial parks. Home to corporations such as Haier, NEC, and Caterpillar, the Venture Industrial Belt in Laoshan produced an income of 103.8 billion RMB ~ 17 billion USD in 2012 and is expected to continue expanding.

Jiaozhou Economic District
Jioazhuo is a county level city to the west of downtown Qingdao. The city is developing quickly with over 100 foreign invested enterprises, including 15 Fortune 500 companies. In 2011 the city’s imports and exports exceeded 5 billion USD. The city includes a 75 km2 industrial zone for locomotive parts, ship parts, and precision instruments, a large logistics center, a prospering financial industry along with several schools and a highly livable city.

Shibei District
Shibei is a well-established economic district that is home to over 1 million people and the 7th largest shipping port in the world. The district has a bold plan for expanding through development of a city, a central business district, a commercial district, and an enterprise park. The expansions will make Shibei a highly livable city, and hot tourist destination. The enterprise park will contain an aviation industrial park, a rubber manufacturing center, a textile park, and architectural park,  digital industrial park, and a science and technology street.

Qingdao National High-Tech Industrial Development Zone
Qingdao National High-Tech Industrial Development Zone was formally opened in 1992 and is among the first batch of dedicated, high-tech industrial development zones to be established in China. Located in the north of Qingdao city's Jiaozhou Bay, it adheres to the governmental strategy of protecting the environment and promoting development in and around Jiaozhou Bay, in order to make the bay the core of Qingdao Municipality. Striving to become a pioneering zone in the innovative development of mechanized industry, a cluster area of high-tech industries and an ecologically sound industrial area, Qingdao High-Tech Development Zone will promote the development of competitive industrial structure, guiding economic development in Qingdao and Shandong Peninsula, and helping situated high-tech enterprises into international competition so as to become the central zone of a new round of economic development (the third-generation new city in Qingdao Municipality).

Shinan District
The Shinan District is Qingdao's main city borough, located at longitude 120°19', latitude 36°04'; the borough sits on the west of the main island and to the east of Qingdao's Economic and Technological Development Zone, which is located across the Jiaozhou Bay sea. Shinan sits at the south side of Qingdao and faces the Yellow Sea, it has a coastal reef along with several beaches. The zone is 12.7 wide, and 4.8 kilometers north to south, the total area is 30.01 square kilometers. The area is the political, cultural and financial center of Qingdao, featuring many iconic loactions: The Zhan Qiao Pier, Little Qingdao, and The famous May 4th Square. Shinan is the most economically and politically developed area of Qingdao and continues to grow.