Beidaihe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Beidaihe (Chinese: 北戴河; pinyin: Běidàihé; Wade-Giles: Pei Tai Ho) is a seaside resort in Qinhuangdao municipality, Hebei province, China. It is also known as a birding haven. The Beidaihe Beach Resort stretches 10km east to west from the Yinjiao Pavilion to the mouth of the Daihe river. The beach itself is covered with yellow fine sand, with a depth from the water to the promenade of about 100 meters. Some places the sand is interrupted by beautiful small rocks of cream color. The water is shallow and welcoming for children. The environment around Beidaihe is considered beautiful. Mt. Lianfeng near the beach has two peaks covered by abundant green pines and cypresses. Lush vegetation, caves, decorated pavilions, secluded paths and winding bridges have made it attractive to visitors from throughout China. There are still few Western tourists, and there is little proliferation of English among the local populace.
English railway engineers were the first Europeans to discover the fishing village in the 1890s and it was not long before wealthy Chinese and foreign diplomats from Beijing and Tianjin made the village a popular destination.
[edit] Prominent Visitors
Beidaihe was best known as the Communist Party of China's summer retreat, which was commonly used by the Party's highest leadership each July to slip away from the summer heat of Beijing and to plan strategy privately. "Beidaihe," an American diplomat once said, "is China's 'smoke-filled room.'" However from 2004 onwards Hu Jintao appears to have ended these conferences. Two reasons have been given for this. First a conference in a resort area appeared to contradict the goal of Hu and Wen Jiabao in projecting a frugal image for the party. A second reason appears to be the desire of the leadership under Hu to work through formal party and state mechanisms rather through informal gatherings.
After Mao Zedong led the Communists to power in 1949, the new rulers also developed a taste for sea air. Mao himself had a summer resort here. Sanatoriums sprang up to reward the efforts of model workers from every industry. A very large Friendship Guesthouse was constructed in 1954, one of dozens across China, to receive the Soviet "elder brothers" who came to assist Chinese development prior to tensions emerging between Soviet and Chinese leadership.
[edit] External links
- Beidaihe - Migration Hub of the Orient - article on birding at and near the town
Now many Russian tourists come to the place every summer. You can see many shops and restaurants with Russian names in Beidaihe. The place is practically empty in winter when all Russian and Chinese tourists go back home.
