Beihai
| Beihai 北海 | |
|---|---|
| Prefecture-level city | |
北海市 | |
 | |
 | |
| Coordinates: 21°28′N 109°06′E / 21.467°N 109.100°E | |
| Country | People's Republic of China |
| Region | Guangxi |
| Area | |
| • Prefecture-level city | 3,337 km2 (1,288 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 21 m (69 ft) |
| Population (2010 census) | |
| • Prefecture-level city | 1,539,300 |
| • Density | 460/km2 (1,200/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 572,000 |
| • Metro | 405,600 |
| Time zone | China Standard (UTC+8) |
| Postal code | 536000 |
| Area code(s) | (+86) 779 |
| Vehicle registration | 桂E |
| Website | http://www.beihai.gov.cn/ |
| Beihai | |||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 北海 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Postal Map | Pakhoi | ||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | north of the sea | ||||||||||||||
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Beihai (Chinese Postal Map Romanisation spelling: Pakhoi; Chinese: 北海) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Guangxi, People's Republic of China. The name of the city means "north of the sea" in Chinese, signifying its status as a seaport on the north shore of the Gulf of Tonkin, which has granted it historical importance as a port of international trade for Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan.[1] Between the years 2006 and 2020, Beihai is predicted to be the world's fastest growing city.[2] Beihai has a large shipyard, but most of the money generated in the city is derived from trade.
In addition, it governs the small islands of Weizhou and Xieyang, and is directly north of Hainan Island.
Subdivisions
Beihai contains three districts and one county, which are subdivided into five urban sub-districts, 23 towns, 3 townships, 87 neighborhood committees, 343 village committees. (see also Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China#Levels)
- Haicheng District (Cantonese: Hoi Sing)
- Yinhai District (Cantonese: Ngan Hoi)
- Tieshangang District (Cantonese: Tit San Gang)
- Hepu County
History
After the 1876 Sino-British Treaty of Yantai, eight Western nations (the UK, US, Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Italy, Portugal, and Belgium) set up consulates, hospitals, churches, schools, and maritime customs. Today, 15 of these western buildings remain in Beihai. It officially became an international tourist spot (旅遊對外開放城市) in 1982.
City timeline
- December 4, 1949: Beihai became a town of Hepu County under the Communist Party of China .
- January 1951: a province-administered city of Guangdong
- May 1951: entrusted to Guangxi
- March 1952: officially administered by Guangxi
- May 1955: Administered by Guangdong again
- 1956: reduced to a county-level city
- 1958: reduced to Beihai People's Commune of Hepu County
- 1959: county-class town
- 1964: restored to county-class city
- June 1965: Administered by Guangxi again
- October 1983: restored to prefecture-level city
Language
Vernacular languages of Beihai include several Yue dialects and Hakka. Mandarin is of increasing prevalence as a result of the Chinese government's general promotion of it.
Transportation
Air Transportation
Beihai is served by Beihai Fucheng Airport (BHY). It serves domestic destinations and also Hong Kong.
Rail
Beihai is served by a railway branch from Nanning. There are passenger trains to Nanning and Guilin.[3] At the end of 2013, the introduction of high-speed (D-series) train service to Beihai was announced as well.[4]
Climate
Beihai has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa), with mild to warm winters and long, hot (but not especially) summers, and very humid conditions year-round. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from 14.5 °C (58.1 °F) in January to 28.8 °C (83.8 °F) in July, while extremes have ranged from 2.0 to 37.1 °C (36 to 99 °F). Rain is both the heaviest and most frequent from June to September, when 70% of the annual rainfall also occurs. This is in contrast to the autumn and winter months, where only 20 to 40 millimetres (0.79 to 1.57 in) of rain falls per month. The area receives about 2,000 hours of sunshine annually.[1]
| Climate data for Beihai (1971−2000) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 18.6 (65.5) |
19.2 (66.6) |
22.4 (72.3) |
26.9 (80.4) |
30.3 (86.5) |
31.5 (88.7) |
31.9 (89.4) |
31.6 (88.9) |
31.1 (88) |
28.7 (83.7) |
26.0 (78.8) |
21.2 (70.2) |
26.6 (79.9) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 11.7 (53.1) |
12.9 (55.2) |
16.2 (61.2) |
20.7 (69.3) |
24.0 (75.2) |
25.9 (78.6) |
26.2 (79.2) |
25.6 (78.1) |
24.5 (76.1) |
21.4 (70.5) |
17.2 (63) |
13.5 (56.3) |
20.0 (68) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 34.1 (1.343) |
41.8 (1.646) |
58.5 (2.303) |
92.8 (3.654) |
156.7 (6.169) |
296.6 (11.677) |
378.6 (14.906) |
393.9 (15.508) |
196.9 (7.752) |
95.4 (3.756) |
38.3 (1.508) |
20.4 (0.803) |
1,804 (71.024) |
| Avg. rainy days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 8.5 | 11.6 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 11.7 | 14.0 | 14.9 | 18.2 | 13.3 | 8.5 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 135.0 |
| Source: China Weather [1] | |||||||||||||
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "北海城市介绍" (in Simplified Chinese). Weather China. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
- ↑ City Mayors: World's fastest growing urban areas
- ↑ Beihai train schedule (Chinese)
- ↑ 广西再开通运营9对动车组 陈武宣布高铁开通 (Guangxi opens new CRH service, with 9 pairs of train a day. Chen Wu announces the opening of high-speed service), 2013-12-31
External links
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Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Beihai. |
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