The club was founded as Shandong Economic and Trade Commission Football Club in 1990 and started at the bottom of the Chinese football league pyramid in the third tier. On December 31, 1993 they became the first professional club in Qingdao and changed its name to Qingdao Hainiu. They went on to establish themselves as a top tier club and won their first major trophy in 2002 by winning the Chinese FA Cup on November 16, 2002 when they beat Liaoning Bird. In the mid-2010s the club started to decline and fell down two leagues, being relegated twice in 4 seasons.