On an evening of late September, it was a scene of bustling activity in the Qingdao Ferry Terminal. Parents and children on family trips, college students and gray-haired tourists were waiting in line to board to have a panoramic view of Jiaozhou Bay, a place where Qingdao originated. Once launched on August 28, the route of traveling around Jiaozhou Bay by ferry finds enormous favour with tourists and has received up to nearly 7,000 tourists on one day.

The ferry route between Qingdao and Huangdao officially opened to traffic in 1986. After bridges and tunnels were put into operation in 2011, ferries play a much less important role in transportation.The opening of the route of traveling around Jiaozhou Bay by ferry marks the recovery of marine tourism in the old urban area of Qingdao.

The newly launched route, which entirely consumes about 40 minutes, starts from Qingdao Ferry Terminal, passes via such landmarks across Jiaozhou Bay as Xiaogang, Zhonggang, Cruise Home Port, Dagang and Mati Reef Lighthouse, and ends in Qingdao Ferry Terminal. With the siren sounding, the pleasure ship slowly departed from the terminal and marched steadily on the sea. Tourists walked onto the deck one after another to enjoy the constantly-changing scenery. The century-old port and lighthouse, which stand there silently, epitomize prosperous trade and industry in Qingdao. The cruise home port and the cross-sea bridge are a testament to Qingdao’s development in the new era. A picture of cityscape, full of charm and vigour, slowly unfolded in front of tourists.

Mr. Ma, a citizen of Qingdao, who has traveled by speedboat from Qingdao to Huanghai, said joyfully that the scenery along the journey was terrific, and a boundless stretch of tangerine-colored seas were particularly magnificent-looking at dusk.  (Ma Xiaoting)

You can have a panoramic view of the boundless stretch of tangerine-colored seas when you travel around Jiaozhou Bay by ferry. By Wang Lei