The Haitian Tower observation deck in Qingdao China

On our recent trip to Qingdao, China, we noticed that one building dominated the skyline, and Mark immediately wanted to visit its Skydeck for epic views. He seems to love seeing a city from above, whereas I am terrified of heights.

The views from Haitian Tower Qingdao are magnificent on a clear day, so of course, we included a visit to the tower in our itinerary.

• Address: Location at No. 48 West Hong Kong Road, Qingdao China

The Qingdao Observation Deck

We were told the busiest time on good weather days is around sunset. The entry price was 100 RMB for adults and less for kids and seniors, making it an affordable attraction in Qingdao.

We planned our visit at lunch time and it was not very busy at all. It was one of the least crowded places to visit in Qingdao.

We easily spent over an hour at the Qingdao tourist attraction, enjoying the views and facilities. We were in no hurry to leave, as every view showed us another place to visit in Qingdao, and there were so many photos to be captured.

What can I see from the Haitian Tower in Qingdao?

The observation deck is on the 80th floor, 369 meters above sea level, perfect for amazing views.

This amazing Qingdao skyscraper is the 32nd-highest building in China and the 62nd-tallest building in the world. These are some serious numbers, which means you will be treated to some stunning views once the elevator reaches the viewing platform.

The views are nothing short of breathtaking. It is really hard to get a sense of how big Qingdao is from the ground. The city borders the coastline on one side and the mountains on the other.

The view stretches along the coast northwards to the Laoshan mountains, taking in May the Fourth Square and the Olympic Sailing area.

To the south, you will see the new area of Qingdao on the west coast, and to the south, you can see the 27-kilometre-long Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay Bridge and St Michael’s Cathedral in the old town.

Are you brave enough to stand on the clear glass floor?

Qingdao 369 has several areas with clear floors, like all good viewing platforms these days, to give you a sense of how far down the ground below you really are.

For people with a fear of heights, you can still get a great view without going too close to the edge of the building. Wall-to-wall, floor to ceiling glass panels allow you to see everything no matter how far away you stand.

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In our family, Willow and I are not afraid of heights, so we happily walked out and posed for pictures on these clear floored areas of the tower.

It really makes me feel alive looking down 350 plus meters to the ground. Mind you, my first step onto the clear glass panelling is always a cautious one!

Bec, on the other hand, is scared of heights, but she is certainly a trooper and has been to many of the observation decks in buildings all around the world.

Sometimes, you can coax her out onto the clear-floored areas, and other times, not so much. At the Haitian Tower, she quickly scurried out to the area and made a fast retreat back to solid flooring as soon as the picture was taken. I think her heart was about to jump out of her chest!

You can do a full 360-degree walk around the 80th floor of the building and take photos in every direction.

Take your time and take it all in. You will find some mounted binoculars in certain spots that will help you see better into the distance.

There is a small cafe where we enjoyed some fresh fruit juices, lemonades and coffees. Normally with places like this there is a heafty pricetag for any drinks or food you order but it was really reasonalby priced.

You could hire some virtual reality headsets to walk around that brings your views to life from the top of Shandong Province’s tallest building.

Interested in visiting Qingdao and China? These articles will help:

• An easy to follow Qingdao itinerary
• How to spend 5 epic days in Beijing
• Catching a train from Qingdao North Train Station

The Haitian Tower is more than just a viewing platform

The higher levels of the tower are a multi-purpose area with a number of things to do. One floor above the viewing platform is reserved for a fine dining experience and comes with a hefty price tag.

While we were there, you could also visit a Monet exhibition on the floor below. You could grab a souvenir or two from the gift shop on both the viewing platform floor and the ground floor on your way out.

What else is there at the Haitian Center Complex?

The Haitian Centre complex comprises of three buildings, all above 200 meters, but the Haitian Tower is the only one with a viewing platform.

The Haitian Tower is also home to a small shopping mall with several shops and places to eat, like Burger King, if you miss Western food. Qingdao seems to have a mall on every corner.

Straight across the road is the Qingdao number 3 bathing beach with soft sand and gentle waves. If it’s a nice sunny day, you have enough to do with the observation floor, the mall, and the beach to fill in a family-fun day in Qingdao, China.

How do I get to the Haitian Tower in Qingdao?

While in Qingdao we tried to us the metro as much as we could but this time we were running late so we used DiDi to get there.

As we have said above there were a few different names for the Tower so we put the St Regis Hotel address into the app and we got dropped off there. The St Regis is in one of the other buildings and was a place we could all identify!

Final thoughts on the Haitian Tower

We think visiting The Haitian Tower observation deck is one of the best things to do in Qingdao. We from Wyld Family Travel all loved our time at this fantastic lookout and highly recommend d it to everyone visiting Qingdao. It might be one of the few places to avoid the crowds.

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