A Must-Do Family Activity in Qingdao: Uncover the Hisense Exploration Center

Summer in Qingdao is a traveler’s dream: the coastline with blue seas and clear skies, and the vibrant beer festival offer countless reasons to visit. But this time I’m shining a light on an incredible family-friendly spot in Qingdao: the Hisense Science Exploration Center. Bring the kids and discover the world through science together.

At No. 11 Jiangxi Road stands a site that once housed the Qingdao General Television Factory—the very predecessor of the Hisense Group. In 1984, the factory (then the Hisense forerunner) moved entirely into this Jiangxi Road location. From production lines for black-and-white and color TVs to eventually serving as the Hisense Technology R&D Center, the compound bore witness to Hisense’s rise. In 2017, when Hisense’s R&D center relocated to a new campus in Laoshan, the company chose to forgo billions in potential real estate profits from land development and instead gave birth to the Hisense Science Exploration Center. Integrating a science hall, a nature gallery, and a museum all under one roof, the center has quickly become Qingdao’s new hub for popular science education. The 13,000-square-meter interactive experience space boasts over 500 exhibits and display items, with more than 200 of them being hands-on experience stations.

Five major venues: Science Development Hall, Science Enlightenment Hall, Nature Discovery Hall, World Consumer Electronics Museum, and Hisense Historical and Cultural Museum.

Visitor guide: The exhibition halls are spread across four floors, each one vast in size. If you’re with little ones, you’ll easily need a good half-day to cover all the zones.

World Consumer Electronics Museum & Hisense Historical and Cultural Museum

1F: Through photographs, texts, and real objects, the World Consumer Electronics Museum and the Hisense Historical and Cultural Museum tell the story of Hisense Group’s development. The museum proudly displays rare treasures like the world’s first television, refrigerator, air conditioner, washing machine, and even a mobile phone from Bell Laboratories—all visible here.

Floors 1F + 2F: Science Enlightenment Hall

Designed mainly for children aged 3 to 12, this hall covers seven major themed areas: Transportation, Water Science Station, Mysteries of the Human Body, Laws of Motion, Magical Light and Shadow, Intimate Magnetism, and Amazing Science.

The Transportation zone is a paradise for boys, with real helicopters, fire trucks, excavators, and more. Kids can actually climb into the driver’s cabs and learn how these functional vehicles work and what they can do.

The Water Science Station is an absolute favorite, because what child doesn’t love water? The internet-famous bubble machine is so tempting that even grown-ups can’t resist playing with it.

Mysteries of the Human Body explains the science of human life, helping children understand themselves scientifically: where we come from, what organs we have, the journey of human evolution…

Laws of Motion demonstrates principles of mechanics—centrifugal force, inertia, lever systems—in an engaging way.

The Magical Light and Shadow zone uses exhibits like a mirror maze, bottomless abyss, tilted room, and kaleidoscope to introduce concepts such as light reflection and refraction, persistence of vision, and the three primary colors of light.

3F: Science Development Hall

This floor is best for children aged 10 and up. Through five permanent themed zones—Acoustics, Mathematics, Mechanics, Optics, and Electromagnetism—kids can truly see the beauty of science. All those textbook lessons come to life here. I really envy today’s children; how wonderful it would have been if we’d had such a museum when we were in school.

Mathematics, as the foundation of physics, plays a vital role. The classic Möbius strip—just twist a strip of paper 180 degrees and two sides that could never meet become one continuous “good friend” (a single surface).

Bernoulli’s principle, Newton’s First Law, Newton’s cradle, and wind power generation—all those concepts we studied in middle-school physics—can be experienced in the Mechanics zone.

You can also clearly grasp the principles behind maglev trains right here in the center.

4F: Nature Discovery Hall

Covering six major ecosystems—desert, plain, grassland, rainforest, ocean, and polar—this hall combines realistic scenery with live animals and plants, letting everyone truly feel the power of nature. Children can spot hedgehogs, rabbits, lizards, marmots, and more.

The hall simulates a “lung of the Earth,” giving you the sensation of walking into a tropical rainforest.

Kids can play here all day without tiring. It’s simply the perfect place to bring your little ones—especially during summer vacation. It enriches their holiday and lets them learn while having fun.

Visitor Tips

Address: No. 11 Jiangxi Road, Shinan District, Qingdao

Transport: Metro Line 2, Zhiquan Road Station, Exit B

Parking: Free parking

Opening Hours: 9:00–20:00

From July 15 to August 29, 2021, there are no closing days—open Monday through Sunday. (World Consumer Electronics Museum and Hisense Historical and Cultural Museum hours: Tuesday–Sunday, 09:00–17:00)

Summer Afternoon Admission: July 15–August 29, 2021, daily 16:00–20:00

Tickets: Adults 168 RMB, children 138 RMB (free for visitors aged 70 and above with a senior citizen card or ID).