May 4th Square, or known as Wu Si Square, is a large public square in Qingdao’s central business district. As a symbol of this city, the May 4th Square got its name in memory of China’s historical May 4th Movement, which started in Qingdao, the square is best recognized by the large “May Wind” (Wuyue Feng) sculpture near the seaside. It is located between the municipal government building and Fushan Bay. As a popular tourist destination, this square is bordered by the city government to the north, the sea to the south, and residential and commercial buildings on either side. It covers an area of 10 hectares. The most remarkable structure, located in the center of the square, is the spiral sculpture entitled “Wind of May.” All sorts of fountains are scattered across the square, providing it with some magnificent decoration. The nighttime views here are excellent. With the moist air and soft sea breeze, it is a wonderful place to go for a walk after dinner. Especially on pleasant days, May Fourth Square is filled with young couples on the ground and kites in the air.
It is composed of the Shizhengting Square, the central square and the coastal park. These three parts have their own features and the whole square is a combination of local Qingdao features and modern design. There are a lot of vendors selling various kinds of sea products and ornaments and many people provide photo-taking services so it’s very crowded.
It’s in a good location if you’re going to be visiting the Olympic Sailing Center, and it’s worth a few minutes of your time to take some pictures. There are a few other little restaurants and things around, and if you walk towards the sailing center there’s coffee and such, so it is better to make it part of an excursion to that area.
What to see
【Fountains】There is a square ground, which at first glance just looks like square stone surface, while actually there hides a total of 81 underground fountains. The atomizers can spray according to different shapes and heights. It is one of the most favorite tourist projects here by visitors, especially children. In the sea 160 meters away from the south coast dam on the axis in the square, here has China’s first offshore hundred-meter fountain. The fountain is designed to use advanced high-pressure pumps. Spewing water column can reach up to 100 meters, very spectacular. When the darkness falls in the light irradiation, spewing water looks like coming from the sky. Endless water vapor turned like a silver yarn wind floats slowly to the square, which make the whole square enveloped in fog, very charming.
【Fushan Bay】
Fushan Bay is the only parallel venue during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Here is the sailing competition venue.
Travel Guide
【Chinese name】: 五四广场
【How to get there】: Take Bus 25, 26, 31, 104, 110, 224, 225, 228, 231, 232, 3o4, 311, 312, 314, 316, 321, 374, 402, 501, 502, 761 and get off at Municipal Government Station.