Opening Hours: 8:00 AM – 9:00 PM
The Qingdao TV Tower, one of the symbols of the city, stands out as one of the things to do in Qingdao, China. This iconic structure, standing tall at 232 meters, offers breathtaking views of Qingdao, home to over 10 million people.
Construction of the Qingdao TV Tower began in 1993 and was completed in 1996 as part of Qingdao’s modernisation push. The tower is a multifunctional TV Tower, helping radio and TV transmission while also acting as a tourist attraction in Qingdao
In this blog post, we’ll take you through the highlights of visiting the Qingdao TV Tower (Shouchuang Television Tower), including ticketing tips, attractions, and more.
Ticketing Tips for the Shouchuang Television Tower
- Purchase Online: For a hassle-free experience, buy your tickets on platforms like trip.com. We found that Trip.com has a great discount for entry. We were able to buy a ticket for just $8 Australian, compared to the regular price of 100 RMB (approximately $20 Australian).
- Purchase Tickets Onsite: You can get your tickets onsite. Beware, you will pay the full 100 RMB price onsite.
Accessibility Note: Wheelchair accessibility is limited. The main entrance has steps, and while there may be an accessible entrance, it wasn’t marked during our visit. Call ahead if you need accessibility information.
Getting to the Qingdao TV Tower
Located on Taiping Hill in the Zhongshan Park area of the city, the tower requires a trip up a hill to the base. You need to get to the base of the TV Tower in Qingdao for ticketing and entry.
Car: The Best and easiest option to get to the tower.
Cable Car: The nearby Taiping Mountain Cable Car stop gives you access to the TV tower with a short 10-minute walk.
Public Transport:
- Metro: Take Metro Line 3 to Zhongshan Park Station, and walk about 1.8 km to the tower.
- Bus: Bus lines 605, 223, and 220 will take you to Zhongshan Park Station. From there, it’s a 1.4 km walk to the tower.
We caught a Didi Car Share to the top and enjoyed scenic views of the area as we wound our way up and around the hill. Just to be clear, Didi is so cheap in China, it just makes sense to use it when you can
What to Expect Inside
Getting straight to the point, it is all about the views and the height. Once you reach the 248m Observation Deck, you’ll be greeted with panoramic views of Qingdao. The quality of the views will depend on the weather in Qingdao and how clean the windows are on the top floor.
When we visited in December, the weather was a bit hazy with sea fog, and the windows at the top could certainly use a cleaning to enhance the views. The TV tower has three viewing floors.
The very top floor is enclosed with glass windows. The next floor is 245m Cloud Panorama Café with a distinctive feel that people on dates come here for a romantic evening. Last, my favourite floor was the open-air platform at 231m, where you could go outside and see the views.
This negated the fact that the windows were dirty on the top floor. If you visit in winter like we do, the temperature outside will vary from cold to freezing, so make sure you have warm clothes.
Stunning views of the Fushan Bay await you, including Qingdao’s tallest building, the Haitian Tower, The Famous Qingdao Pier, the Qingdao Zoo and the Badaguan Scenic area.
In all honesty, besides the views and the chance to have a drink, there isn’t anything else that interesting on the viewing floors to see.
Top Tip: For the best views, head to the side where the sun isn’t shining directly.
On the Ground Floor
The ground floor, where you enter the tower, had several displays for aviation enthusiasts. To be honest, I am not sure what aviation has to do with a TV tower, but this is China, and anything is possible.
By that, I mean China is random, and you can find things at places you would not expect or connect. There was a display of commercial aircraft from the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC).
I was pretty excited to see a scaled-down model of the COMAC C919, a new commercial plane that China has made to rival Boeing and Airbus.
There were several virtual reality experiences that you could try, which all seemed like flying aeroplanes that included COMAC C919 aircraft, American Boeing 737-800 aircraft, and Cessna 172 aircraft.
My experience was their there was no English-speaking staff, so I am not sure how you would go about booking a session in the simulator
Best times to visit
The best time to visit would be late after near sunset. The Golden Hour, as they call is an excellent time as you can see the sun setting.
Visiting the Qingdao TV Tower is a fantastic way to spend a few hours, especially on a cold winter’s day. Whether you’re interested in aviation, breathtaking cityscapes, or simply want to enjoy a unique experience.
Even though I enjoyed the experience, I had the feeling it was slightly run down and could have had more displays or information on the high viewing levels, such as the Haitian Tower did. Most of these high viewing platforms usually have a pointer to where important sites in the city are, but not this tower.
We enjoyed our visit , but by no means do we think it is a must when visiting Qingdao. The viewing platform at the Haitian Tower was much better.
Thank you for reading!
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