The Hai Tian Hotel, like two giant ships, has been traveling between sea and sky for more than seventeen years. Regardless of conditions, in calm seas or raging waves, the Hai Tian has cleaved the waters, sailing on toward her goals.

The Path of the Hai Tian is the process of setting up a viable, powerful, management model through continuous exploration, application and perfecting. The Path of the Hai Tian is modeling and then managing the Hai Tian brand. The Path of the Hai Tian is creating more features and strengthening competitive abilities. The Path of the Hai Tian is the process of grasping opportunities and realizing constant self-improvement.

Looking back on the history of the Hai Tian, we see her development in three phases:

On March 12,1985 the Hai Tian Hotel Company ltd. was set up; one of the earliest joint ventures in Qingdao. Eight shareholders came from four regions or countries -- the Chinese mainland, Singapore, Hong Kong and Macao; four sides and eight directions were gathered together.

On September 20,1986, the foundation of the Hai Tian Hotel was laid and construction begun...a new-born creature in desert soil. Six years later, as the core of Qingdao city shifter toward the east, this area was suddenly infused with energy and vitality, becoming a golden and precious space.

On October 28,1988, the initial phase of the Hai Tian, the classic West Wing, one of the area's earliest joint ventures and star-rated hotels, opens for business.

On March 1st, 1990, construction on the second building; the East Wing is initiated with its opening just over two years later on June 18th 1992.

During the period before its official opening, the Hai Tian was managed by the Japanese First Hotel. But, because of the June 4th incident that year, the Japanese party unilaterally terminated the contract. The Hai Tian began managing on their own, and, full of confidence had its officially opening in October of 1989.

Faced with one of the sternest ever tests for Chinese tourism, Hai Tian people not only passed test but demonstrated that the Chinese people could quite capably manage a modern hotel on their own. Though dealing with an untried, independent management system and short of qualified management staff, the Hai Tian confidently pressed ahead to develop an entity that was self-supporting and promoted self-respect to win credit for the Chinese people and the nation's developing hospitality industry. We sought and absorbed management lessons from top flight hotels around the world. We pursued innovation, improvement and development as we completed the metamorphosis of the hotel's operation mechanism into an efficient management system that might be universally applied. Our operational ideas are supported by strict management, high quality service, efficient promotion, extended cooperative business and moderate expenses. Regarding high quality service as our essential to our survival, we assumed as management principles offering: security, comfort, convenience, enthusiasm, consideration and courtesy. " During this period we completed a publication on hotel management titled " A Management Guide and Operational Manual. " This initial volume comprised some 520,000 words.

On January 28th, 1992, the Hai Tian Hotel was formally named a four-star hotel by the National Tourism Bureau and gained listing as one of the 500 Largest Enterprises in China and one of the top 100 in the Hospitality Industry Nationwide. By the end of 1992, the Hai Tian Hotel gained listing among the top 40 National Tourism businesses, and a year later had moved up to 28th on that list.

The period was typically a seller's market with little competition. Comrade Deng Xiaoping's speech on his 1992 inspection tour of Southern China stimulated the process of China's opening up and reform. Tourism, as a leading industry, gained an unparallel chance for development. The Hai Tian, as one of a handful of star-rated or aspiring hotels in Qingdao, led Qingdao's hospitality industry with its high reputation and unique advantage. Following the establishment of relation's with Korea, more Korean investment was directed to Qingdao. The Hai Tian became the first choice for businessmen from Korea, Japan and other countries in the region. During the same period, as more and more investors put their money in the hotel industry, the Hai Tian considered the situation and seized the opportunity for further development. We strengthened sales promotion and took advantage of our standing as a well-known hotel. Summarizing our hotel management experience, we formed a Hai Tian Management Model aimed at providing service with security, comfort, consideration and a high ethical standard. Our hotel team, dependable and self-sacrificing combined their destinies with that of the Hai Tian, ensuring that we could confidently meet the fierce competition just ahead. In 1997 the Hai Tian was honored with five-star hotel rank.

In the closing years of the 20th century a fierce buyers market turned the hospitality industry into warfare. On 1998, there were 78 hotels for foreign visiting guests, rooms totaled about 10,000, more than double the count in 1994 and representing a further doubling by the millennium. The arrival in town of the Shangri la, the newest member of a famous chain of hotels, created a crisis. The Hai Tian was faced with a most formidable competitor armed with timeworn and obsolete rooms and facilities and facing economic humiliation saw business and benefits plummet. These circumstances aroused great concern and then substantial support from the Qingdao Municipal Government. Buttressed by this concern, the Hai Tian Company Board made an immediate decision to launch a second period of pioneering endeavor. To shape a new image for the Hai Tian, a series of major actions were initiated. First came the cosmetic make-over; extensive renovation and decoration of the rooms and facilities in two successive phases. Next a new mindset and approach was created with new management and service ideals to guide our staff, such as " New Hai Tian , New Feeling, " " Year of Creative Service, " and the " Year of Greater Value for Guests. " Next to put legs under our fiscal ability we linked up with Nikko Hotels International and making good use of the network platform, built up a new sales system. The fourth element involved intensive modeling, managing and marketing the Hai Tian brand by setting up Hai Tian Management Company and the Hai Tian International Travel Service. In order to meet the new market demand we created new and attractive products. Next, realizing the critical need for strict management and we reformed the operational and personnel system exercising more control over business expenses. These positive moves were highly encouraging to staff, who, thus motivated, became more active and creative. Another element was added as we joined the China Famous Hotels Cooperation and became a dominant part of that organization; Our president is the Vice Chair and General Secretary of the CFHC and the Hai Tian is host to the CFHC's Secretariat. Then we put earnest effort into designing a re-creation management, sub-systems and culture.

Setting up the Hai Tian management system brought us face to face with the essence of the Hai Tian cultural philosophy; Creating Value for Guests. Five years of struggle, into a new millennium, we can proudly say that the Hai Tian has completed an amazing leap, from an old hotel in decline to a new, green one on the ascent; from modeling a hotel brand to marketing it and managing other's hotels; from setting up a hotel management system to summarizing and exporting a culture philosophy; from falling revenues to large scale profits and profitability. The service brand " A Home between Sky and Sea " was born.

In 2002, the Hai Tian hotel was listed first in business income and profit in the Qingdao hospitality industry, named first among Qingdao's " 10 Excellent Hotels " City's Statistics Bureau, cited as the best among Qingdao's green hotels by the Qingdao Tourism Bureau and chosen as a " Famous Brand of China Tourism " by China Tourism News.

In 2003, Hotel President, Xi Yanping, was chosen Vice Chairman of the China Tourism Hotels Association. The Hai Tian was honored by the American Academy of Restaurant and Hospitality Sciences' premier accolade; " the Five Star Diamond Award. "