Weihai

Weihai 威海 Weihaiwei · 威海衛 Port Edward
Prefecture-level city
威海市
View of Happiness Gate from the sea
Weihai City in Shandong
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Shandong
County-level divisions	4
Township-level divisions	66
City seat	Huancui District (37°30′07″N 122°07′24″E)
Government
• CPC Secretary	Cui Yuechen (崔曰臣)
• Mayor	Wang Peiyan (王培廷)
Area
• Prefecture-level city	5,436 km2 (2,099 sq mi)
• Urban	731 km2 (282 sq mi)
• Metro	731 km2 (282 sq mi)
Population  (2010 census)
• Prefecture-level city	2,804,800
• Density	520/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
• Urban	591,982
• Urban density	810/km2 (2,100/sq mi)
• Metro	591,982
• Metro density	810/km2 (2,100/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard)
Area code	631
GDP	RMB 178 billion (2008)
GDP per capita	RMB 63,519 (2008)
License Plate Prefix	鲁K
Website	http://www.weihai.gov.cn/
City Flower: Sweet Osmanthus, Osmanthus fragrans City Tree: Silk Tree, Albizia julibrissin

Weihai (Chinese: 威海; pinyin: Wēihǎi) is a city in eastern Shandong Province, People's Republic of China. It is the easternmost prefecture-level city of the province and a major seaport. Between 1898 and 1930, the town was a British colony known as Weihaiwei or the Weihai Garrison (traditional Chinese: 威海衛; simplified Chinese: 威海卫; pinyin: Wēihǎi Wèi), and sometimes as Port Edward. Weihai was not developed in the way that Hong Kong, the other British colony in the region, was developed, because Shandong Province of which Weihaiwei was part of, was inside Germany's sphere of influence and had only been obtained as a counterbalance to the Russian presence at Port Arthur 130 kilometres across the sea in Manchuria. It was largely used as a naval station and a sanatorium. Weihai borders Yantai to the west and the Yellow Sea to the east.

Its population is 2,804,800 at the 2010 census. 591,982 live in the built up area (Huancui urban district). One can notice that Rongcheng, a county level city, has a built up area with 1,006,795 inhabitants.

Administrative divisions

The prefecture-level city of Weihai administers four county-level divisions, including one district and three county-level cities.

• Huancui District (环翠区)
• Wendeng City (文登市)
• Rongcheng City (荣成市)
• Rushan City (乳山市)

These are further divided into 66 township-level divisions, including 52 towns and 14 subdistricts.

History

The port was once the base for the Beiyang Fleet of China during the Qing Dynasty. During 1895, the Japanese captured it from the landward side. It was evacuated during 1898.

After Russia leased Port Arthur (on the opposite coast) from China for 25 years during March, 1898, the United Kingdom obtained a lease for Wei Hai Wei which was to exist for as long as the Russians leased Port Arthur. During 1905, when the Japanese defeated the Russians in the Russo-Japan War the Japanese took over Port Arthur, the British lease extended as long as the Japanese occupied Port Arthur. Thus the city was part of a territory (c.285 sq mi/740 km²) called "Weihaiwei", which was leased by the United Kingdom from 1898 until October 1, 1930. It was a summer station for the British naval China Station and it was also used as a sanatorium. It became one of two major ports for ships of the Royal Navy in the Far East (the other being Hong Kong in the south).

At the beginning of the lease the territory was administered by a Senior Naval Officer of the Royal Navy (Sir Edward Hobart Seymour). During 1899, administration was transferred to a military and civil commissioner (Arthur Robert Ford Dorward 1899-1901 and John Dodson Daintree 1901-1902) appointed by the War Office in London. The territorial garrison consisted of 200 British troops and a specially constituted Chinese Regiment with British officers. During 1901, it was decided that this base should not be fortified, and administration was transferred to the U.K.'s Colonial Office. A Civil Commissioner was appointed during 1902 (the post was held by Sir James Haldane Stewart Lockhart until 1921) to manage the territory, and the Chinese Regiment was disbanded during 1903. In 1909, the Hong Kong governor Sir Frederick Lugard, raised the idea that the British would revert Weihai to Chinese rule, and receive perpetual rule of the 1898 leased territories of Hong Kong in return. This proposal was never adopted.

Although Weihaiwei was officially a colony like Hong Kong, and although it was normal for British colonies to be administered under the provisions of the British Settlements Act 1887, while the treaty ports were administered under the provisions of the Foreign Jurisdiction Act 1890, Weihaiwei was actually administered under the Foreign Jurisdiction Act 1890 just like the treaty ports. The reason being that as a leased territory subject to rendition at any time, it was not considered appropriate to treat it as a colony.

In 1903, a High Court for Weihaiwei was established. For convenience reasons the judges of the court were chosen from individuals serving as a judge or crown advocate of the British Supreme Court for China. The three judges of the court from 1903 to 1930 were:

• Frederick Samuel Augustus Bourne (1903-1916), Assistant Judge of the Supreme Court for China
• Hiram Parkes Wilkinson (1916-1925), Crown Advocate of the Supreme Court for China
• Peter Grain (1925-1930), Assistant Judge, and from 1927, Judge of the Supreme Court for China

No special postage stamps were ever issued for Weihaiwei. Just as in the case of the treaty ports, Hong Kong stamps were used and after the year 1917, these were overprinted with the word China. And there were never any special coins or banknotes issued for circulation in Weihaiwei. The currency in circulation would merely have reflected the complex state of affairs which existed generally in Hong Kong and the Treaty Ports during that era.

After several commissioners held the post of British commissioner of Weihaiwei (Arthur Powlett Blunt 1921-1923 and Walter Russell Brown 1923-1927), the outstanding sinologist Reginald Johnston (previously tutor to the last Chinese emperor) was the last. It was briefly a special administrative region after it was returned to the Republic of China, the successor of the Qing Dynasty. During 1949, Weihaiwei City was established, and was renamed Weihai City after it was occupied by the People's Republic of China.

The nickname British sailors gave to this port was "Way High"; it was also sometimes referred to as Port Edward in English. The minor planet 207931 Weihai is named after this city.

Geography and climate

Weihai
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     13     2 −3     12     3 −3     18     9 1     36     16 8     49     22 13     75     26 18     133     28 21     176     28 22     80     24 18     37     19 12     30     12 6     22     5 −1 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: Weather.com.cn
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.5     36 26     0.5     38 28     0.7     47 34     1.4     61 46     1.9     71 55     3     78 64     5.2     82 70     6.9     82 72     3.1     76 65     1.5     66 54     1.2     53 42     0.9     41 31 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Weihai is located on the north-eastern seashore of Shandong, and its administrative area includes Chengshantou (成山头), the eastern tip of the Shandong Peninsula. The city is surrounded by sea on three sides and its harbour is protected by Liugong Island.

Weihai lies in the transition zone between a Humid subtropical and humid continental climate (Köppen Cwa/Dwa), but as it is at the eastern end of the Shandong Peninsula, its climate is strongly influenced by the surrounding Yellow Sea: springtime warming and autumn cooling are delayed by one month, and the average diurnal temperature throughout the year is small — at only 6.73 °C (12.1 °F). Winters are cold and dry, but still warmer than places further inland. Summers are very warm and humid, but the August high only averages 25.9 °C (78.6 °F). Precipitation is sparse in winter and is heavily concentrated in the summer months, totaling 665 millimetres (26.2 in).

Climate data for Weihai (1971−2000)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	2.0 (35.6)	3.4 (38.1)	8.5 (47.3)	16.0 (60.8)	21.6 (70.9)	25.5 (77.9)	27.8 (82.0)	27.8 (82.0)	24.4 (75.9)	19.1 (66.4)	11.8 (53.2)	5.2 (41.4)	16.1 (61.0)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−3.4 (25.9)	−2.5 (27.5)	1.3 (34.3)	7.5 (45.5)	12.8 (55.0)	17.7 (63.9)	21.3 (70.3)	22.0 (71.6)	18.2 (64.8)	12.4 (54.3)	5.5 (41.9)	−0.5 (31.1)	9.4 (48.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	12.9 (0.51)	12.2 (0.48)	17.8 (0.70)	36.1 (1.42)	49.0 (1.93)	74.5 (2.93)	132.6 (5.22)	175.7 (6.92)	79.9 (3.15)	37.3 (1.47)	29.9 (1.18)	22.1 (0.87)	680.0 (26.77)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm)	6.5	5.1	4.6	5.8	6.9	7.9	11.5	10.2	6.9	6.4	7.8	8.2	87.8
Source: Weather China

Economy

At present, Weihai is a commercial port and major fishing center with some light industries. Due to its close proximity to South Korea, Weihai also has a large Korean business community and receives many Korean tourists. Weihai is also a key production area for peanuts and fruit.

Industrial Zone

• Weihai Economic & Technological Development Zone

Weihai Economic and Technological Development Zone is a state-level development zone approved by the State Council on Oct 21, 1992. The administrative area has an area of 194km2, including the programmed area of 36km2 and an initial area of 11.88km2. Its nearest port is Weihai Port, and the airport closest to the zone is Wuhai Airport.

• Weihai Export Processing Zone

Weihai Export & Processing Zone (EPZ) was set up by the approval of the State Council on April 27, 2000. Weihai EPZ is located in Weihai Economic & Technological Development Zone with programmed area of 2.6 km2. Weihai EPZ belongs to comprehensive export & processing zone. The EPZ is located 30 km to Weihai Airport, 3 km to Weihai Railway Station and 4 km to Weihai Harbor.

• Weihai Torch Hi-Tech Science Park

Weihai Torch Hi-Tech Science Park is a state-level development zone approved by the State Council on March 1991. Located in Weihai's northwest zone of culture, education and science, the Park has the total area of 111.9 square kilometers, the coastal line of 30.5 kilometers and 150,000 residents. It is 3 kilometers away from the city center, 4 kilometers away from Weihai Port, 10 kilometers away from Weihai Railway Station, 30 kilometers away from Weihai Airport and 80 kilometers away from Yantai Airport.

Education

Campuses of Shandong University and Harbin Institute of Technology are located in Weihai.

Transportation

Weihai Airport serves the city with regular service to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Harbin domestically and the Korean cities of Seoul and Pusan. The K8262 and K8264 trains depart every day at 7:17 AM and 9:52 PM respectively for Jinan, the provincial capital, the K412 goes directly to Beijing at 7:49 PM, and the No. 1064 train leaves at 8:27 AM for Hankou, one of the two railway stations of Wuhan, Hubei. Internally, the city is served by about 50 bus routes.

Sister cities

• Cheltenham, United Kingdom (since May 21, 1987)
• Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan (May 18, 1992)
• Santa Barbara, California, United States (December 8, 1994)
• Yeosu, South Korea, (February 17, 1994)
• Sochi, Russia (October 18, 1996)
• Biella, Italy (October 22, 1996)
• Timaru, New Zealand (July 30, 1998)
• Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo (May 24, 2004)
• Novopolotsk, Republic of Belarus (April 25, 2006)

See also

• Liugong Island

External links

• Government website of Weihai (available in Chinese, English, Japanese and Korean)