Haicheng () is a

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

Longhai City Longhai District () is a District in Zhangzhou, in the south of Fujian province, China. Longhai spans an area of , and, as of 2016, it has a population of approximately 736,400. History Following the revocation of the sea ban (''haijin'') in the ...

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 ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. , it has 5 residential communities and 19 villages under its administration.

History

Haicheng used to be known as

Yuegang Yuegang () was a seaport situated at the estuary of the Jiulong River near Zhangzhou in Fujian, China. Known as a smuggling hub since the early Ming dynasty, Yuegang rose to prominence in the 16th century as the Ming government cracked down on oth ...

( "Moon Harbor") for its crescent-shaped shoreline. It was a bustling port during the Ming dynasty even under the sea ban (''haijin'') which prohibited private maritime trade. Following the revocation of the sea ban in the 1567, the old smuggling port of Yuegang was renamed to Haicheng ("clear seas") and was designated to be the port where foreign trade (except with Japan) was to be conducted in Fujian. Haicheng became a key port for China's silver trade with

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

in the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and rose to become one of Fujian's four main commercial ports.

References

Township-level divisions of Fujian Longhai City {{Fujian-geo-stub