Shanhaiguan was built in 1391. It used to be an important military and commercial stronghold. In times of peace, the city gate was open to passengers; when war came, the gate was closed and the town strongly fortified. After the Qing Dynasty unified China, Shanhaiguan gradually lost its role as a military fortification, becoming a tourist destination.

    Shanhaiguan's Old Dragon Head, five kilometers south of the town, is the starting point of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall. During the Ming and Qing dynasties it was a fortified garrison. The Old Dragon Head is considered an auspicious name. All the emperors wanted to visit it. Five emperors during the Qing Dynasty paid 11 visits to the Old Dragon Head to view the vast sea and pray for happiness.

    In recent years, Qinhuangdao has made great strides in developing tourism, and has tried to diversify its tourist resources by taking advantage of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. These days, large numbers of Russian, Japanese and Korean tourists have begun to arrive, demonstrating the Olympic effect.

    Since China adopted its reform policies, local industries have seen rapid development, and the industrial structure has changed, creating an economy of scale. The Beijing Olympic Games have brought Qinhuangdao's role as the backyard garden of Beijing and Tianjin into full play. Now, a large number of inhabitants have migrated to Qinhuangdao from North China, Northeast China, Beijing and Tianjin. As a result, housing prices have been gradually rising.

Qinhuangdao Port: Linking Global Energy Transportation

    Besides its scenic sights, Qinhuangdao is one of China's most important comprehensive foreign trade ports, whose annual handling capacity exceeds 200 million tons. Its coal wharf is one of the world's largest.

    For three years in a row Qinhuangdao Port ranked first in the world in terms of bulk cargo, according to the 2007 statistics released by the Britain-based magazine World Port Development.

    Standing on the coal dock of Qinhuangdao Port, I saw an immense ship entering the port. The long arm of the shiploader was loading coal onto another 50,000-ton ship. Nearby is the end of the Datong-Qinhuangdao Railway, and modern car-dumpers were pouring coal onto the conveyor belt to the dock. The empty coal cars were then sent back to Datong coal mines.

    China's coal mines are mostly located in its central and western regions. The coal output of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang make up 60 percent of China's total, while China's main coal consuming areas are mostly on the southeastern coast. The distribution of coal resources and regional economic development are unbalanced, making Qinhuangdao the main hub for "shipping coal from north to south." In this way, Qinhuangdao has become the world's largest coal shipping port.

    Everyday, 10,000-ton-class ships frequent Qinhuangdao Port, shipping out coal to energy consumers in coastal areas. The State Grid Zhejiang Beilun Power Plant, the Guangzhou Zhujiang Power Fuel Co., Ltd., the Shanghai Zhongtong Energy Co., Ltd. and Huaneng Taicang Power Plant of Suzhou Industrial Park all rely on coal shipped from Qinhuangdao Port.

    Qinhuangdao has several advantages in developing port logistics. It is at the juncture of North China and Northeast China, two industrially developed areas with great potential in cargo shipping. It is also at the juncture of three railway bureaus of Beijing, Shenyang and Taiyuan, a good factor to bring the initiative of the railway departments to cooperate in long-distance logistics.

    The expressways and highways are also well developed. After the operation of the Qinhuangdao-Chengde Expressway, Qinhuangdao's advantage is more obvious to link the areas in the northern part of North China, the western part of Liaoning and the eastern part of Inner Mongolia. Shanhaiguan Airport enables Qinhuangdao to provide air cargo transportation.

    Qinhuangdao Port has kept improving its port facilities, expanding the old coal wharves and building a new coal wharf to increase its handling capacity. In July 2004, the fourth stage of the reserved project of its coal wharf went into operation, with a new shiploader and an increased annual loading capacity of 10 million tons. In October 2005, the fourth stage of the expansion project of its coal wharves was put into operation, building one 50,000-ton berth and one 35,000-ton berth. In April 2006, the fifth stage project was put into operation, building two 50,000-ton berths, one 100,000-ton berth and one 150,000-ton berth, increasing the handling capacity by 50 million tons.

    In 2007, Qinhuangdao handled 214 million tons of coal, making up 50 percent of China's total amount sent through coastal ports. It is the first port in the world to ship out 200 million tons of coal. Qinhuangdao Port has become the main energy supplier for East China's and South China's economically developed areas, and the main hub of China's energy shipping system.

    It took only five years for Qinhuangdao Port to increase its handling capacity from 100 million tons to 200 million tons, meeting the demand of the Datong-Qinhuangdao Railway, whose annual shipping capacity is 200 million tons.

    In 2007, Qinhuangdao City signed framework agreements with seven cities to share port resources, including Datong, Tangshan, Zhangjiakou, Chengde, Chifeng, Chaoyang, and Manzhouli, generating remarkable results.