Everything about Weihaiwei totally explained
Weihai ; known in the past as the
Weihai Garrison or
Weihaiwei, and sometimes as
Port Edward during the colonial period; is a
prefecture-level city in eastern
Shandong province,
People's Republic of China. The easternmost prefecture-level city in the province and a major
seaport, Weihai borders
Yantai to the west and looks out to the
Yellow Sea to the east.
Administrative divisions
The
prefecture-level city of Weihai administers 4
county-level divisions, including 1
districts and 3
county-level cities.
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. In 1895, the Japanese captured it from the landward side. It was evacuated in 1898.
After
Russia leased
Port Arthur from China on the opposite coast for 25 years in March,
1898, the
United Kingdom obtained a lease which was to run for as long as the Russians stayed in Port Arthur. In 1905, when
Japan took over the lease of Port Arthur, the British lease was made to run 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. These ships of the
Royal Navy in the
Far East had two main ports on the Chinese coast;
Hong Kong in the south and
Wei Hai Wei, an island in the north. Wei Hai Wei was rented from the Chinese government so there were no shore facilities to speak of.
At the beginning of the lease the territory was administered by a Senior Naval Officer of Royal Navy. In 1899, administration transferred to a military and civil commissioner appointed by the War Office in London. The territorial garrison consisted of 200 British troops and a specially constituted Chinese Regiment with British officers. In 1901, it was decided that this base shouldn't be fortified, and administration was transferred to the U.K.'s Colonial Office. A Civil Commissioner was appointed to run the territory in 1902, and the Chinese Regiment was disbanded in 1903.
The last British commissioner of Weihaiwei was
Reginald Johnston. It was briefly a
special administrative region after it was returned to the
Republic of China, the successor to the
Qing Dynasty. In 1949, Weihaiwei City was established to be renamed into Weihai City after the founding of the People's Republic of China.
In recent years, a proposal from the British Archives surfaced in regards to the territoriality of Weihai during the 1800s. The proposals, apparently advanced by Hong Kong governor Sir Frederick Lugard, stipulated that the British would revert Weihai to Chinese rule, and receive perpetual rule of the 1898 leased territories of
Hong Kong in return. Some believe that if the proposal had been acted upon, Hong Kong would still remain in British hands, but Whitehall doesn't seem to have acted on the proposal.
The nickname British
sailors gave to this port was "Way High"; it was also sometimes referred to as Port Edward in English.
Geography and climate
Weihai is surrounded by sea on three sides and the harbor is protected by
Liugong Island. It is located on the north-eastern seashore of
Shandong Province in China at 37
°28
′ northern
latitude and 122°7′ east of
Greenwich.
Weihai has a mild, seasonal climate moderated by the surrounding sea. August is the warmest month with a 24-hour average temperature of 24.3
°C and January the coldest (24-hour average temperature of -1.5°C. Data the
Global Historical Climatology Network, version 1).
Economy
At present, Weihai is a commercial port and major fishing center with some light industries. It is also a key production area for peanuts and fruit.
Education
Campuses of
Shandong University and
Harbin Institute of Technology are located there.
Transportation
Weihai International Airport serves the city with regular service to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Harbin domestically and the Korean cities of
Seoul and
Pusan. The
N456 train departs everyday at 8:30PM for Jinan, the provincial capital, and the No. 2518 goes directly to Beijing. Internally, the city is served by 44 bus routes.
Sister cities
Cheltenham, United Kingdom (since May 21, 1987)
Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan (May 18, 1992)
Santa Barbara, 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)Further Information
Get more info on 'Weihaiwei'.
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