Qingdao Huanghai

Qingdao Huanghai are a Chinese football club from the coastal city of Qingdao in Shandong Province, a city better known for its German colonial heritage and its famous Tsingtao beer than for football. The club traces its origins to 1990 and underwent several name changes and ownership shifts before becoming Qingdao Huanghai in 2015 under pharmaceutical company backing. Their name reflects the Yellow Sea -- Huanghai means Yellow Sea in Chinese -- making them one of world football's more poetically named clubs.

Founded in 1990 as Shandong Economic and Trade Commission FC, the club became Qingdao Huanghai in 2015 and later Qingdao Hainiu. Based in Qingdao, Shandong Province, they have competed across multiple tiers of Chinese football, reaching the Chinese Super League during their most successful period.

The kits of Qingdao Huanghai reflect the club's several identity shifts over the decades, from early red home strips to later yellow designs reflecting both the Yellow Sea branding and the club's pharmaceutical sponsors. The coastal identity of Qingdao has shaped each rebrand, with the maritime theme woven through the visual language of the club's shirts. For fans of Chinese football and the sport's more obscure corners, a Qingdao Huanghai shirt carries the charm of a club that has constantly reinvented itself.