Yantai

History

The region was inhabited by the Dongyi people, who had established the State of Lai by the Zhou dynasty. Lai was annexed by the State of Qi in 567 BC. During the Qin dynasty, Yantai belonged to the Qi Commandery, later renamed Donglai Commandery () during the Han dynasty. The area was known as the Donglai Kingdom during the Jin dynasty (265–420) but later returned to prefecture status (first jun, then zhou). In the Tang dynasty and following it was known as the Teng-chou prefecture, part of Henan Circuit. Next, the city became the Laizhou Subprefecture () and, eventually, the Dengzhou Subprefecture () in the time of the Qing dynasty.

In July 1858 the Chinese empire signed the Treaty of Tianjin and Dengzhou was renamed for the last time. Yantai opened its harbor for business in May 1861, but was not officially designated an international trading port until later that year on August 22. This decree was accompanied by the construction of the Donghai Pass (). 17 nations, including Britain, established embassies in Yantai. The Chefoo Convention was signed there in 1876.

Yantai literally means "smoke tower". In the Ming dynasty, locals used wolf dung to light fires (Langyan) to warn the whole village of approaching Japanese pirates (Wokou). The city was nothing but a small fishing village until the late 19th century when it became a treaty port for the British, handed over by the falling Qing dynasty, which had been defeated in the Opium War. Then with the Germans power over the whole Shandong peninsula in early 20th century, Yantai was also controlled by Germans for about 20 years. After the Germans were defeated by Allied forces in World War I, Qingdao and Yantai were handed over to the Japanese who turned it into a summer station for their Asian fleet. They also set up a trading establishment in the town. The different foreign influences that shaped this city are explored at the Yantai Museum, which used to be a guild hall. However, the colourful history has not left a distinctive architectural mark, there has never been a foreign concession, and though there are occasional grand 19th-century European buildings, most of the town is of much more recent origin. After 1949, the towns name was changed from the Chefoo to Yantai and was opened to the world as an ice-free trade port in 1984.

On November 12, 1911, the eastern division of Tongmeng Hui declared itself a part of the revolutionary movement. The next day, it established the Shandong Military Government () and, the day after that, renamed itself the Yantai Division of the Shandong Military Government (). In 1914, Jiaodong Circuit () was established with Yantai as the capital. Jiaodong Circuit was renamed Donghai Circuit () in 1925. On January 19, 1938, Yantai participated as part of an anti-Japanese revolutionary committee.

After the creation of the Peoples Republic of China, in 1950, Yantai was officially awarded city status with the outlying towns of Laiyang and Wendeng tacked on as "Special Regions" (). Wendeng was merged into Laiyang six years later, and this larger Laiyang Special Region was combined with Yantai City to become Yantai Prefecture (). Yantai is of strategic importance to Chinese defence as it and Dalian, directly across the Bohai Sea from it, are primary coastal guard points for Beijing. In November 1983, the prefecture became a prefecture-level city.