Located 40km (24 miles) east of Qingdao, Lao Shan is a mountain range that is part Daoist sanctuary, part natural wonder, with waterfalls, streams, and walking trails snaking through wooded hills, and jagged cliff faces rising dramatically from the blue sea. Daoism spread to the mountain during the Western Han dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 9), and emperors throughout the ages have dispatched envoys to scale the mountain in search of the elixir of life. While the water that originates from here didn't perform any miracles, today it is famous and is used in brewing Tsingtao beer.
Admission to Lao Shan is ¥80 ($10), but thanks to greedy tourist officials you must now purchase additional tickets, ranging from ¥4 (50¢) to ¥30 ($3.60), to gain entry to specific attractions on the mountain. The most popular sightseeing route is thesouthern route,which takes in Daoist temples, caves, and ponds, with stupendous sea views along the way. The main Daoist temple here isTaiqing Gong,first built in 140 B.C., now with over 140 rooms and an equally mind-boggling number of gods from the Daoist pantheon. Admission is ¥10 ($1.25); hours are from 8am to 6pm. East of the temple, a trail leads up toYakou temple,where you can either take a cable car or continue on foot up to Yao Lake and Mingxia Cave, where admission is ¥4 (50¢). The trail down leads pastShangqing Gong(¥4/50¢), another Daoist temple; and the impressive waterfall,Longtan Pu.
To get to Lao Shan, tourist buses depart from the eastern end of Qingdao's railway station square every half-hour from 6:30am to 6pm. The 1-hour trip costs ¥20 ($2.50). Public bus no. 304 runs from the Ferry Terminal (Lundu) on Sichuan Lu all the way to Yakou. The Taiqing Gong cable car costs ¥50 ($6.25) round-trip (¥40/$5 in low season).