Zhanqiao Pier

Zhanqiao Pier stands off Zhongshan Road on the southern shore of Qingdao and runs 440 metres into the water. The word itself names a structure carried out from the land into the water, usable as a wharf and as a breakwater, wide enough to take loading equipment. Zhanqiao began as the wooden jetty for the naval harbour that the Qing court ordered in 1891 when it decided to fortify Jiao'ao, and a municipal account dates Qingdao's first artificial wharf, today's Zhanqiao, to 1892. The octagonal Huilan Pavilion was constructed at the end of the pier in 1930 and serves as the trademark of Tsingtao Brewery. Close by are Little Qingdao island and the China Navy Museum, in a quarter of narrow streets and German colonial houses.