The eastern coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province has set a goal to become an international consumption center.

The city is strategically located facing Japan and South Korea to the east and serves as the eastern starting point of the New Eurasian Land Bridge and as a hub city of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

In particular, the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization Demonstration Zone for Local Economic and Trade Cooperation in Qingdao, which started construction in 2019, has secured Qingdao's new pivotal role in connecting the East and West through its land-sea transport systems, providing new impetus for it to become an international consumption center.

Qingdao aims to become an international consumption center by 2022. [Photo/VCG]

Qingdao's robust transportation system further accentuates is role as a regional hub.

The city is home to Qingdao Port, the seventh largest port in the world, which has opened more than 150 international routes and has trade contacts with more than 700 ports in over 180 countries and regions around the world. The city is also connected to the rest of the world by 37 international air routes and 166 domestic flight routes.

In 2019, Qingdao was visited more than 109 million times by domestic and foreign tourists, with tourism revenue reaching 195.59 billion yuan ($28.97 billion), up 13 percent year-on-year. The number of inbound tourists reached 1.54 million, with expenditures reaching $1.16 billion.

Unique festivals also add to the coastal city's appeal. Every summer, tens of millions of tourists from home and abroad attend the Qingdao International Beer Festival.

Qingdao International Sailing Week, the Marine Festival, Phoenix Music Festival, China-Japan-ROK Culture and Art Festival, and other events also attract hordes of visitors to the city.

The city is developing an urban shopping festival on par with those in Hong Kong and Singapore in order to boost consumption as well as strengthen the city's reputation as an international consumption city.

The city, with 20 commercial centers, 44 commercial streets, 122 large and medium-sized commercial facilities, will also work to improve its consumption facilities and services.

It will create more new international platforms for consumption, set up modern supply chains and build a strong consumption environment. Large-scale cross-border e-commerce platforms as well as premium commodities and services will be introduced to satisfy mid-end to high-end consumer demands.