Right before moving to Qingdao, I was on the verge of spending a fortune to frame and ship some paintings from Shanghai.  A helpful vendor suggested I save the money and find a frame shop directly in Qingdao.  She was certain there was an art district in Qingdao that could do the same thing.

With very little information to go on, I searched and searched around with no luck.  I finally asked Driver/ Tour Guide/ and resource to many Qingdao expats, **Don Dong, for help.  And good thing I did!  Tucked away on the west side of Qingdao is Culture street, Changle lu, where I found plenty of frames, art supplies, and antiques.  Weekend mornings are the time to go, as all the antique vendors come out and the area becomes a flea market.  It’s a great place to just stroll around and find souvenirs. Much better and more interesting things here than at Qingdao fake market Jimo lu, in my opinion.

Changle lu is a tree lined street with plenty of antique, painting, frame and art supply shops:

There were plenty of shops to find wooden frames.  I paid around for $30-$40USD for a 2ft x3ft wooden frame that would easily cost me over $150 USD in the states!  Now the only question is how am I gonna fit 10 of those in my luggage to go back home?

 

 

Under the clock tower, you can find the flea market on weekends.

Booth after booth, we felt like modern day treasure hunters.

Vendors sprawl out selling all types of vintage Chinese antiques, such as these wooden hand carvings:

I had to insist with my kids, “No!  A rotary telephone, record player, tape cassette player, and boom box are NOT antiques!” One sure fire way to feel my age…

 

Tons of art supplies which are great for gifts:

And we still had time to pop-a-squat and grab a delicious lamb kebob

Here’s the address:

Have fun on your adventure!

 

 

**If you are looking for an English speaking driver or tour guide around Qingdao, Don is your man phone 13687697428, wechat ID: zhimengguanjia