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| History |
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The port was once the base for the Beiyang Fleet of China during the Qing Dynasty. In 1895, the Japanese captured it from the landward side. It was evacuated in 1898.
After Russia leased Port Arthur from China on the opposite coast for 25 years in March, 1898, the United Kingdom obtained a lease which was to run for as long as the Russians stayed in Port Arthur. In 1905, when Japan took over the lease of Port Arthur, the British lease was made to run as long as the Japanese occupied Port Arthur. Thus the city was part of a territory (c.285 sq mi/740 km²) called "Weihaiwei", which was leased by the United Kingdom from 1898 until October 1, 1930. It was a summer station for the British naval China Station. These ships of the Royal Navy in the Far East had two main ports on the Chinese coast; Hong Kong in the south and Wei Hai Wei, an island in the north. Wei Hai Wei was rented from the Chinese government so there were no shore facilities to speak of.
At the beginning of the lease the territory was administered by a Senior Naval Officer of Royal Navy. In 1899, administration transferred to a military and civil commissioner appointed by the War Office in London. The territorial garrison consisted of 200 British troops and a specially constituted Chinese Regiment with British officers. In 1901, it was decided that this base should not be fortified, and administration was transferred to the U.K.'s Colonial Office. A Civil Commissioner was appointed to run the territory in 1902, and the Chinese Regiment was disbanded in 1903.
The last British commissioner of Weihaiwei was Reginald Johnston. It was briefly a special administrative region after it was returned to the Republic of China, the successor to the Qing Dynasty. In 1949, Weihaiwei City was established to be renamed into Weihai City after the founding of the People's Republic of China.
In recent years, a proposal from the British Archives surfaced in regards to the territoriality of Weihai during the 1800s. The proposals, apparently advanced by Hong Kong governor Sir Frederick Lugard, stipulated that the British would revert Weihai to Chinese rule, and receive perpetual rule of the 1898 leased territories of Hong Kong in return. Some believe that if the proposal was acted upon, Hong Kong would still remain in British Administration, but Whitehall do not seem to have acted on the proposal.
The nickname British sailors gave to this port was "Way High"; it was also sometimes referred to as Port Edward in English. |
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| Geography and climate |
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Weihai is surrounded by sea on three sides and the harbor is protected by Liugong Island. It is located on the north-eastern seashore of Shandong Province in China at 37°28′ northern latitude and 122°7′ east of Greenwich.
Weihai has a mild, seasonal climate moderated by the surrounding sea. August is the warmest month with a 24-hour average temperature of 24.3°C and January the coldest (24-hour average temperature of -1.5°C. Data the Global Historical Climatology Network, version 1). |
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| Economy |
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At present, Weihai is a commercial port and major fishing center with some light industries. It is also a key production area for peanuts and fruit.
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| Transportation |
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Weihai International Airport serves the city with regular service to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Harbin domestically and the Korean cities of Seoul and Pusan. The N456 train departs everyday at 8:30PM for Jinan, the provincial capital, and the No. 2518 goes directly to Beijing. Internally, the city is served by 44 bus routes.
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| Sister cities |
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 Cheltenham, United Kingdom (since May 21, 1987)
 Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan (May 18, 1992)
 Santa Barbara, United States (December 8, 1994)
 Yeosu,South Korea,(February 17, 1994)
 Sochi, Russia (October 18, 1996)
 Biella, Italy (October 22, 1996)
 Timaru, New Zealand (July 30, 1998)
 Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo (May 24, 2004)
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