Beihai (;

Postal romanization Postal romanization was a system of transliterating Chinese place names developed by postal authorities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For many cities, the corresponding postal romanization was the most common English-language for ...

: Pakhoi) is a

prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. During the Republican era, many of China' ...

in the south of

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...

, People's Republic of China. Its status as a

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

on the north shore of the

Gulf of Tonkin The Gulf of Tonkin is a gulf at the northwestern portion of the South China Sea, located off the coasts of Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and South China. It has a total surface area of . It is defined in the west and northwest by the northern ...

has granted it historical importance as a port of international trade for Guangxi,

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

, and

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

. Between the years 2006 and 2020, Beihai is predicted to be the world's fastest growing city. Beihai has a large

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

, but most of the money generated in the city is derived from trade. In addition, it governs the small

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

s of Weizhou and Xieyang, and is directly west of

Leizhou Peninsula The Leizhou Peninsula, alternately romanized as the Luichow Peninsula, is a peninsula in the southernmost part of Guangdong province in South China. History Qing naval forces were stationed at the Leizhou Peninsula. During the 19th century ...

Subdivisions

Up to 2022, Beihai contains 3 districts and 1 county, which are subdivided into 7 urban sub-districts, 22 towns, 1 townships, 95 neighborhood committees, 336 village committees. (see also Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China#Levels) *

Haicheng District Haicheng (; za, Haijcwngz) is the seat of the city of Beihai, Guangxi, People's Republic of China. It has an area of and a population of 240,000 . Administrative divisions Haicheng District is divided into 7 subdistricts and 1 town: Subdistr ...

() *

Yinhai District Yinhai District (, Cantonese: ''Ngan Hoi''; za, Yinzhaij Gih) is a district of the city of Beihai, Guangxi, People's Republic of China. It has 7 neighbourhood committees and 39 village committees under the administration of five towns. * Area: * ...

() *

Tieshangang District Tieshangang District (), is a district of the city of Beihai, Guangxi, China. It has 3 neighborhood committees and 39 village committees. * Area: * Population: * District seat: Nankang Town Subdivisions 3 towns: * Nankang () * Yingpan () * Xingg ...

() *

Hepu County Hepu (), alternately romanized as Hoppo, Hopu or Hop'u, is a county under the administration of Beihai City in southeastern Guangxi, China. It borders Lianjiang (Guangdong) to the southeast, Bobai County to the northeast, the Gulf of Tonkin to ...

()

History

After the 1876 Sino-British

Treaty of Yantai The Chefoo Convention, known in Chinese as the Yantai Treaty, was a treaty between Qing China and Great Britain, signed by Sir Thomas Wade and Li Hongzhang in Zhifu (now a district of Yantai) on 21 August 1876. The official reason for the treat ...

, eight Western nations (the UK, US, Germany,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, France, Italy, Portugal, and Belgium) set up consulates, hospitals, churches, schools, and maritime

customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

. Today, 15 of these western buildings remain in Beihai. It officially became an international tourist spot () in 1982.

City timeline

* December 4, 1949: Beihai became a town of Hepu County under the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...

. * January 1951: a province-administered city of

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

* 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 The people's commune () was the highest of three administrative levels in rural areas of the People's Republic of China during the period from 1958 to 1983, until they were replaced by townships. Communes, the largest collective units, were div ...

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

Climate

Beihai has a

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

-influenced

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''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 in January to in July, while extremes have ranged from . 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 of rain falls per month. The area receives about 2,000 hours of sunshine annually.

Language

Yue Language

Qin-Lian Yue Qin–Lian Languages Group (, romanization of 'Qin–Lian' in native languages is ''Hamlim'', literally 'Qinzhou and Lianzhou', a historical region) is a southern branch of Yue Chinese spoken in the coastal part of Guangxi, including 3 main citi ...

It is the mostly common vernacular languages group in Beihai, including old language (Limchownese Language and Nga Language) and new language (kinds accents of Cantonese). **Limchownese Language
( zh, 廉州話), the name stemming from the Town of Lianzhou, the capital of County of Hepu, which was the central and capital town for several modern cities nearby in early history. Or Hoppo Language ( zh, 合浦話), has been named by the County of Hepu, which was the major city in

of ancient China. Or Rural Language ( zh, 村下話), literally speaking, the language was most widely used until the

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

and

Tanka is a genre of classical Japanese poetry and one of the major genres of Japanese literature. Etymology Originally, in the time of the ''Man'yōshū'' (latter half of the eighth century AD), the term ''tanka'' was used to distinguish "short poem ...

immigrants from the zone of Pearl River - capital district of Province of Guangdong with their

Cantonese Language Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

have been dominating South of Hepu - modern District of Haicheng, focal point of Beihai, where downtown has been moved to from Town of Lianzhou since 19th century after Chefoo Convention which demanded Beihai as a treaty port. Or Jute-planter Language ( zh, 麻佬話), whose name was from 'jute-planter' ( zh, 麻佬) is used to describe the Limchownese-speaking people tend to broadly plant jute. The term is widely used in East of Hepu. Limchownese is mostly widely used in Beihai, and regarded as the first language and mother tongue by the most of native. People in County of Hepu and District of Yinhai only speak Limchownese as monolingual (only regional languages are listed, or as 'dialects' regarded by

Government of China The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an Authoritarianism, authoritarian political system in the China, People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of Leg ...

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

that is national language of China isn't counted here). However, citizens in District of Haicheng - the zone of chief administration mostly speak it as bilingual, Pakhoi Cantonese is more mainstream here, the elder are mostly proficient for the 2 languages, the young might only speak the latter and are mostly able to listen, understand and simulate the former language. **Nga Language
( zh, 我話,

literally ''Literally'' is an English adverb. It has been controversially used as an intensifier for figurative statements. History The first known use of the word ''literally'' was in the 15th century, or the 1530s, when it was used in the sense of "in ...

'my language') named by the pronunciation of 'I' ( zh, 我) /ŋa/, some call Maritime Language ( zh, 海邊話), another elder speakers call Hoppo Language ( zh, 合浦話), for distinguishing from sharing the same name of with Limchownese Language, they call Limchownese 'Outer Language' ( zh, 坡外話). Linguistically, Nga Language is closely related to Limchownese Language, sometimes regarded as a dialect of it. Nga Language is mostly spoken in District of Tieshangang, and some in District of Yinhai and Town of Zakou border on Tieshangang. Nga Language and Limchownese Language are able to be talked each other in some extent (approximately 50-60 percent and more), but a little confusion about understand and tone. And it's easy to learn and simulate Limchownese for the people speaking Nga Language. Historical name for Tieshangang was 'pearl pool' ( zh, 珠廠), so the many ancient people who spoke this language called 'the pearl fishers' ( zh, 珠民) in historical information. The pearl played the most significant role in Beihai's ancient history. **Costal Language
( zh, 海邊話), also named Civilian Language ( zh, 百姓話) is spoken in Town of Shatian. This language is debatable Which language group it belongs to, sometimes it will be stated as

Min Language Min (; BUC: ''Mìng-ngṳ̄'') is a broad group of Sinitic languages spoken by about 30 million people in Fujian province as well as by the descendants of Min speaking colonists on Leizhou peninsula and Hainan, or assimilated natives of Chaosh ...

. However, it shares many indigenous words with Limchownese Language and Nga Language. **Pakhoi Cantonese
( zh, 北海白話,

'vernacular of Beihai'), abbreviated as Pakhoi Language ( zh, 北海話), vernacular or Common Language ( zh, 白话), the dialect of Cantonese, is the second most-spoken language in Beihai. After Cantonese and Tanka immigrants brought their language and culture while settled in Beihai in 19th century, it has been changed by the influence of native through time. 'Limchownese-Cantonese' is the most appropriate term to explain it. Pakhoi Cantonese has experienced strong influence from Limchownese language, especially native conventional vocabularies and phrase different from

, some are originated from

Kra–Dai languages The Kra–Dai languages (also known as Tai–Kadai and Daic) are a language family in Mainland Southeast Asia, Southern China and Northeast India. All languages in the family are tonal languages, including Thai and Lao, the national languages o ...

without

Chinese characters Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...

to write (sometimes meaningless homonyms are used to write), others are diverse or very rare Sintic words to use. And its pronunciations are also influenced, some Chinese characters each have 2 different pronunciations - Limchownese-Cantonese pronunciation and native Cantonese pronunciation, depending on their different vocabulary which means combining more than 2 characters (or words from Kra–Dai languages) to form a phrase. And some expressions have 2 different phrases - native Cantonese phrase and Limchownese phrase. **Naamhong Cantonese ( zh, 南康白話), is only spoken in the downtown of Town of Nankang. It is close to Pakhoi Cantonese but with an obviously different tone. However, the most widely used in Town of Nankang is Nga Language, mostly in hinterland. *Cantonese varieties of mixed Yue
The local Cantonese accents of Beihai with native Qin-Lian Yue and

Yuehai Yue Yuehai () is the main branch of Yue Chinese, spoken in the Pearl River Delta of the province of Guangdong, as well as Hong Kong and Macau. It is commonly called Cantonese, though that name is more precisely applied to the Guangzhou topolect ...

(widely known as 'Cantonese of

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

') mixed. **Tanka Cantonese
( zh, 蜑家話) is spoken by

Tanka People The Tankas or boat people are a sinicised ethnic group in Southern China who have traditionally lived on junks in coastal parts of Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Hainan, Shanghai, Zhejiang and along the Yangtze river, as well as Hong Kong, and ...

who are mostly living in Waishaqiao ( zh, 外沙橋) the north bank of Beihai, some very elderly people speak in the absolute Tanka accent, the middle age and the young speak in mixed accents with Pakhoi Cantonese. **Overseas-Chinese Cantonese
( zh, 華僑白話) is spoken by the people living in

Town of Qiaogang A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares ...

, majorly consist of Chinese-vietnamese refugees expelled during the anti-China protest in Vietnam in 1975. Overseas-Chinese accents are complex, the minority speak in Cantonese accent or Tanka accent, the majority speak in a mixed accent with Pakhoi Cantonese or Limchownese Language. **Saanhau Cantonese
( zh, 山口白話) is only spoken in the downtown of Town of Shankou which is the border Province of Guangxi and Province of Guangdong. It is close to

Guangzhou Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Varieties of Chinese, Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) an ...

Hakka Language Hakka (, , ) forms a language group of varieties of Chinese, spoken natively by the Hakka people throughout Southern China and Taiwan and throughout the diaspora areas of East Asia, Southeast Asia and in overseas Chinese communities around th ...

*West Guangdong-South Guangxi Hakka **Ngai Language
( zh, 涯話,

'my language') named by the pronunciation of 'I' (Chinese: 我) /ŋai/, 涯 is the meaningless 'borrowed characters' based on its similar pronunciation, or New-immigrants Language ( zh, 新民話) is the third most-speaking language. It is linguistically divided as a dialect of

Hakka Language Hakka (, , ) forms a language group of varieties of Chinese, spoken natively by the Hakka people throughout Southern China and Taiwan and throughout the diaspora areas of East Asia, Southeast Asia and in overseas Chinese communities around th ...

, but some speakers distinguish themselves from

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

(Because most of Ngai people consider that they don't share a origins with Hakka people). The speakers mainly gather in several towns of Eastern Hepu and

Weizhou Island Weizhou Island () is a Chinese island in Beibu Gulf in the Gulf of Tonkin. The largest island of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Weizhou is west of Leizhou Peninsula, south of Beihai, and east of Vietnam. Administratively, it is part of Wei ...

(the mother tongue for about 60% islanders). Most of Ngai people's ancestors moved from Dingzhou, Province of Fujian to Beihai during

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

and

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

dynasties.

Min Language Min (; BUC: ''Mìng-ngṳ̄'') is a broad group of Sinitic languages spoken by about 30 million people in Fujian province as well as by the descendants of Min speaking colonists on Leizhou peninsula and Hainan, or assimilated natives of Chaosh ...

*Leizhou-Hainan Min **

Leizhou Min Leizhou or ''Luichew'' Min (, ) is a branch of Min Chinese spoken in Leizhou city, Xuwen County, Mazhang District, most parts of Suixi County and also spoken inside of the linguistically diverse Xiashan District. In the classification of Yuan ...

( zh, 雷話) is rare in Beihai and only used in some villages of Tieshangang and

(the mother tongue for about 15% islanders). The speakers are descendants of Immigrants from Leizhou. Weizhou Island was governed by District of Leizhou, then was transferred to Hepu (including nowaday Beihai). **Bomei Language
( zh, 波美話) is a dialect of

Min language Min (; BUC: ''Mìng-ngṳ̄'') is a broad group of Sinitic languages spoken by about 30 million people in Fujian province as well as by the descendants of Min speaking colonists on Leizhou peninsula and Hainan, or assimilated natives of Chaosh ...

, only spoken by very small people living around

Beihai Fucheng Airport Beihai Fucheng Airport is an airport serving the city of Beihai in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. It serves primarily domestic destinations within China, with limited international service. In 2011 it ranked as the 63rd busiest airpo ...

. The speakers are mostly descendants of the Immigrants from Dianbai. *

Eastern Min Eastern Min or Min Dong (, Foochow Romanized: Mìng-dĕ̤ng-ngṳ̄), is a branch of the Min group of Sinitic languages of China. The prestige form and most-cited representative form is the Fuzhou dialect, the speech of the capital of Fujian. ...

**Army Language
( zh, 军話) is a dialect of Eastern Min, spoken in Village of Yongan, East of Hepu, which was a historical military zone in ancient China. The language as literally was brought by army from Province of

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

Others

is of increasing prevalence as a result of the Chinese government's general promotion of it.

Transportation

Air transportation

Beihai is served by

(BHY). It serves domestic destinations and also

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

Rail

Beihai is served by a railway branch from

Nanning Nanning (; ; za, Namzningz) is the capital and largest city by population of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China. It is known as the "Green City" because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South of ...

. There are passenger trains to

and

Guilin Guilin ( Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''; alternatively romanized as Kweilin) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the west bank of the Li River and borders Hunan to the nort ...

. At the end of 2013, the introduction of high-speed (D-series) train service to Beihai was announced as well. (Guangxi opens new

CRH CRH may refer to: * Calibre radius head, a traditional British ordnance term for a concept in ballistic projectile design * Celtic Resources Holdings, an Irish mining company * China Railway High-speed, a high-speed railway service operated by Chin ...

service, with 9 pairs of train a day. Chen Wu announces the opening of high-speed service), 2013-12-31

Road

China National Highway 209 China National Highway 209 (G209) runs from Sonid Left Banner, Inner Mongolia to Beihai, Guangxi province. It is 3,435 kilometres in length and runs south from Huhhot towards Shanxi province, Henan province, Hubei province, Hunan province, and ...

China National Highway 325 China National Highway 325 (G325, Guangnan Highway) runs west from Guangzhou, Guangdong towards Nanning, Guangxi. It is 868 kilometres in length. Route and distance See also * China National Highways * AH1 {{China National Highways Tra ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Guangxi Prefecture-level divisions of Guangxi