Yantai: International City of Grape and Wine

Author: Chen Junping
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-01-01
Features: Yantai is located in the eastern part of Shandong Peninsula, bordering the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea. It faces Japan and the Korean Peninsula across the sea and is one of China's first coastal open cities. It is an international port city, commercial center, and tourist destination within the Bohai Rim economic zone and East Asia. The city has a coastline of 909 kilometers.
Yantai is surrounded by mountains and the sea, with a pleasant climate, free from extreme cold in winter and intense heat in summer. The average annual temperature is around 12°C, making it a famous summer resort and leisure destination in northern China. Currently, the city has basically formed a three-dimensional land, sea, and air transportation network:
- Airport: A Class I open port with international routes to South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Macau, and Hong Kong. Domestic routes connect major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Haikou, Dalian, Shenyang, Harbin, Chengdu, Kunming, Wuhan, Jinan, and Xi'an, with over 120 weekly flights.
- Sea: Connected to ports in over 100 countries worldwide for cargo transportation. International passenger ferries operate to Busan, South Korea, and domestic ferries, roll-on/roll-off ships, and express boats serve destinations such as Dalian, Tianjin, Qinhuangdao, Lushun, and Yingkou.
- Land: The railway network is extensive, with passenger trains to Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing, Jinan, Qingdao, Weifang, Zibo, Jiamusi, and Xi'an, as well as connections to major cities across the country. The highway network includes the Yanqing First-Class Road, Yanwei Expressway, national highways, and county/urban roads, providing essential transportation for tourism development.
In 1997, the city had 53 travel agencies, including 7 international ones and 46 domestic ones. There were over 80 tourist hotels, with 25 star-rated hotels (including 1 four-star, 13 three-star, 10 two-star, and 1 one-star). The city had over 15,000 hotel beds, offering a range of accommodations to meet the needs of different tourists.
Commercial areas in the city are thriving, with shopping being very convenient. Major commercial districts include South Street, North Street, and Southwest River. New entertainment facilities such as food cities, entertainment centers, golf courses, and bowling alleys have been built. Following the East Asian Cities Import and Export Trade Fair held two years earlier, the 1997 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) International Trade Expo, organized by the Chinese government, was held here. President Jiang Zemin inscribed the phrase: "Equality, mutual benefit, opening up, and common prosperity."
In 1997, the city had 523 tourism enterprises and over 60,000 tourism workers. During the 8th Five-Year Plan period, the city welcomed 22.88 million domestic tourists, a doubling of the 7th Five-Year Plan figure, with a total tourism revenue of 11.5 billion yuan, an increase of 105% compared to the 7th Five-Year Plan. Among them, 193,000 overseas tourists were received, generating 700 million yuan in foreign exchange. In 1998, the city welcomed 119,700 overseas tourists, earning 62 million US dollars, with a total tourism revenue of 4.78 billion yuan.