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.
Contents
1 Administrative divisions
2 History
3 Geography and climate
4 Economy
4.1 Industrial Zone
5 Education
6 Transportation
7 Sister cities
8 See also
9 References
10 External links
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
This section requires expansion with:
history after 1949.
This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section
by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and
removed. (October 2010)
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.[1]
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 91 36 168 49 2213 75 2618 133 2821 176 2822 80 2418
37 1912 30 126 22 5−1
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: Weather.com.cn
[show]Imperial conversion
J F M A M J J A S O N D
0.5 3626 0.5 3828 0.7 4734 1.4 6146 1.9 7155 3 7864 5.2 8270 6.9 8272
3.1 7665 1.5 6654 1.2 5342 0.9 4131
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
Average high °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)
Average low °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)
Precipitation mm (inches) 12.9
(0.508) 12.2
(0.48) 17.8
(0.701) 36.1
(1.421) 49.0
(1.929) 74.5
(2.933) 132.6
(5.22) 175.7
(6.917) 79.9
(3.146) 37.3
(1.469) 29.9
(1.177) 22.1
(0.87) 680.0
(26.772)
Avg. 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.[2]
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.[3]
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.[4]
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
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Weihai
Liugong Island
References
^ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/how-britain-lost-chance-to-keep-its-last-
major-colony-1258861.html
^ RightSite.asia | Weihai Economic & Technological Development Zone
^ RightSite.asia | Weihai Export Processing Zone
^ RightSite.asia | Weihai Torch Hi-Tech Science Park
