Beihai (Postal romanization: Pakhoi ) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Guangxi, People's Republic of China. Its status as a seaport on the north shore of the Gulf of Tonkin has granted it historical importance as a port of international trade for Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan. Between the years 2006 and 2020, Beihai was predicted to be the world's fastest growing city. 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 west of Leizhou Peninsula.

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)

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 (旅游对外开放城市) in 1982.

City timeline

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 14.6 °C in January to 29.0 °C in July, while extremes have ranged from 2.6 to 37.1 °C. 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 mm of rain falls per month. The area receives about 2,000 hours of sunshine annually. Extremes since 1951 have ranged from 2.0 °C (unofficial record of 0 °C was set on 6 January 1893) to 37.1 °C.

Language

Yue Language

Hakka Language

Min Language

Others

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

Road