CH'IN-HUANG-TAO

Pinyin Qinhuangdao, seaport city lying in the east of Hopeh sheng (province), China, on the Liao-tung Gulf. Ch'in-huang-tao is situated at the eastern extremity of the Hopeh Plain before the plain's narrowing at the coast at Shan-hai-kuan, approximately 12 miles (20 km) to the northeast. The city's immediate hinterland is a narrow and not particularly fertile part of the Hopeh Plain, backed by barren mountains. Although it has the only ice-free harbour in Hopeh, Ch'in-huang-tao was only a minor fishing village until the end of the 19th century. Its growth resulted from the development of the K'ai-luan coal mines, some 75 miles (120 km) to the southwest at T'ang-shan in the early 1880s. By the end of the 19th century, much of the production of these mines was exported to other Chinese coastal cities, even as far away as Canton. At first the coal was shipped through T'ang-ku, the outport of Tientsin, an inconvenient route, since ships had to be loaded by lighter and the port was icebound in winter. By 1894 the rail link from Tientsin to Shan-hai-kuan had been completed, and it was decided to build a modern port at Ch'in-huang-tao, linking it with a short railway to T'ang-ho on the main line. The government also encouraged the development to provide a winter sea-mail service for Tientsin and Peking. In 1899-1900 the K'ai-p'ing Mining Company began construction of the new port. The work was incomplete when the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 broke out. The T'ang-shan area was occupied by Russian troops and Ch'in-huang-tao by an international force. The Chinese mine administration was replaced by a British-based company, which completed the harbour and its rail link in 1901. Within two years almost all K'ai-luan coal was exported through the port rather than through Tientsin. The export trade expanded not only to coastal ports in China but also to the major ports of eastern Asia. Although the town remained almost a monopoly of the British company, it was opened to trade as a treaty port in 1901 and developed a secondary role as a winter port for trade with Tientsin and with Ying-k'ou (Newchwang), now in Liaoning province, when these ports were closed by ice. Between World Wars I and II, its trade grew rapidly, partly as the production of coal, coke, and cement at T'ang-shan increased and partly as it became a major port of entry for Japanese goods into North China, both for legitimate trade and smuggling. It also began to develop its own industry, particularly glass manufacture. The British installed the largest glassworks in China there in the 1930s, and it has remained a major centre of the glass industry. From 1949 Ch'in-huang-tao continued to grow rapidly. Its population more than doubled in the first decade of communist rule. It remains a coal port, exporting to Japan and Pakistan, and has piers for handling crude oil and freight. Its trade has become more varied, however, as T'ang-shan's industry has been diversified. In 1984 Ch'in-huang-tao was designated one of China's "open" cities in the open-door policy inviting foreign investment. Ch'in-huang-tao also exports considerable quantities of peanuts (groundnuts) and soybeans and has grown into a fishing port of consequence. The beautiful coastal district to the southwest has been a summer resort since the early 20th century. Pop. (1989 est.) 341,500.