The Fire Watchtower was first built in 1905. It is a German-style building located on the top of the slope of Guanxiang First Road in the Shinan District of Qingdao. Standing 18 meters high, it is a landmark building in Qingdao. It was designed by the German Kurt Rothkegel and was used as a fire watchtower at that time. Staff were arranged to keep watch around the clock. Once a fire was spotted, the duty officer in the tower would ring the copper alarm bell hanging on the roof.

First, the chaotic bell would be rung 30 times, and then the number of times the bell was rung would be used to inform the fire brigade of the location of the fire scene. That is to say, one ring for the Shinan District, two rings for the Shibei District, and so on. Around 1930, after the dial-up automatic telephones were put into use in Qingdao, the functions of the Fire Watchtower were gradually replaced by telephone alarms. By the early 1940s, the Fire Watchtower, which had completed its historical mission, was closed. Standing on the observation platform on the roof, one can have a panoramic view of the red-tiled roofs, green trees, blue sea and clear sky in the western part of Qingdao.