Fleet headquarters
Nineteenth-century buildings.
Scott Edmunds — CC BY 2.0 · mayanming — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Scott Edmunds — CC BY 2.0 · Rolf Müller (User:Rolfmueller) — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Scott Edmunds — CC BY 2.0 · Scott Edmunds — CC BY 2.0 · Rolf Müller (User:Rolfmueller) — CC BY-SA 3.0 · chp13579753 — CC BY-SA 3.0
A small green island at the mouth of Weihai Bay on the north-eastern tip of the Shandong Peninsula, about four kilometres long, more than half covered in black pine, its highest point of 153 metres dropping in cliffs to the north; it can be reached only by boat, in about twenty minutes. It is named after the Liu family who settled it under the Han, and in the late Qing it became the headquarters of the Beiyang Fleet, China's first modern navy, with a naval academy, a telegraph centre and an iron pier built between 1889 and 1891; the fleet was defeated here in 1895 in the First Sino-Japanese War. From 1898 the British used it as a naval base, leaving houses and buildings in European style from that era. Visitors today see the fleet's headquarters buildings, the museum of that war, old guns and stone barracks, and walk through the pine forest to views over the sea. The package costs CNY 138 with the return boat, and it is open from 7.30 am to 6 pm from April to October, with the last boat over at 4.30 pm; tickets are booked by name, per visitor guides.
Nineteenth-century buildings.
From the British era.
And sea views.
Mouth of Weihai Bay, about 4 km from the city by boat, Shandong
Weihai is a seaside city known for seafood, with a few restaurants run by Muslims under the halal sign; other restaurants may serve pork, so ask before ordering, and choices on the island are limited.