TAIDONG Pedestrian Street, located between Yan’an Road 3 and Weihai Road, is about 1,000 meters long. It is the most thriving shopping street in Qingdao.

    The place has a long history as a commercial center.

    German imperialists planned for it to be a laborers’ district in the early 1900s. It once was a shanty town of makeshift cottages built by farmers who left their rural hometowns to earn a living in the city. Markets, small theaters and tea houses emerged later.

    Today, it’s one of the five biggest commercial centers of the city. The area has 245 large retailers, 565 small shops and seven specialized markets.

    An average of 200,000 people visit the street every day. People call it Qingdao’s Wangfujing Street, comparing it with the busiest street in Beijing.

    (Chen Ting, Duan Xiaodong)