Discover Qingdao
May Fourth Square
五四广场
The modern civic centre on Donghai Road, dominated by the twisting red 'May Wind' sculpture and backed by the new skyline. The seafront promenade from here runs for kilometres.
The story
What makes this place special
May Fourth Square was built from 1996 in the new eastern business district, facing the municipal government building across East Hai Road with Fushan Bay to the south. It is named for the May Fourth Movement of 1919, which began as a protest against the Treaty of Versailles handing the German concession at Qingdao to Japan rather than returning it to China — so the square commemorates a national political movement that was specifically about this city. Its sculpture, 'Wind of May', designed by Huang Zhen, is a steel spiral about 30 metres high and 27 metres across; reported weights vary between roughly 500 and 700 tonnes.
What you’ll discover
A large modern civic space arranged on an axis from the government building down to the sea: a sunken performance plaza, a ground-level fountain array, then the rust-red steel spiral, then lawns and the seafront promenade. Across the water is the Olympic Sailing Centre, built for the 2008 sailing events, and a floating fountain that throws water up to something approaching a hundred metres. At night the surrounding towers run a coordinated light show across their facades, which is now the main reason people come.
A little local insight
Good to know before you go
- Come at night, not by day. By daylight it is a windy plaza with a sculpture; after dark the tower light show along Fushan Bay is genuinely impressive and free.
- Know what it commemorates. The May Fourth Movement started over the disposal of this city, which makes the square the one piece of political memory in modern Qingdao — and nothing on site explains that in English.
- Walk east along the promenade to the Olympic Sailing Centre rather than staying on the square. The marina, the boats and the view back along the bay are better than the plaza.
- The spiral is photographed from the seaward side with the towers behind it, not from the government-building side.
- There is no shade and the bay is windy. In winter it is genuinely cold and in summer the fountains are the only relief.
When to come
After dark, year round, for the sculpture lit and the tower light show. Late afternoon into evening in summer; the square is exposed and unpleasant at midday.
Getting around
Excellent. Entirely modern, flat and paved, with ramps between the plaza levels, step-free routes to the sculpture and along the seafront promenade, and accessible toilets. The sunken plaza has ramped access. Among the easiest outings in Qingdao for a wheelchair user, and it connects to kilometres of level seafront path.
Worth knowing before you go
The evening light-and-music show on the surrounding towers runs on a fixed schedule - check the day's times with your hotel.
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