Weihai belongs to the first group of Chinese foreign trading ports. It has maintained long and steady economic and trade ties with more than 100 countries and regions.

Weihai has great tourist resources. There are more than 80 places of interest, for instance, Liugongdao Memorial Places of the Jiawu War, “the end of the sky” which has been visited by Qin Shihuang and Han Wudi, the birthplace of Quanzhen section of Taoism—Shengjing Mountain, a bucolic refuge—Shengshui Temple, Tieci Mountain, Fahua Temple in Chishan wich is a symbol of the friendship of Chinese, Japanese and Korean and the biggest overwintering habitat of swan—swan lake. There are four provincial tourist holiday zones: Huancui, Yintan, Shidao Bay and Swan Lake.

In 2008, Weihai’s GDP reached 178.35 billion yuan, up by 12.1 percent over the previous year. The GDP per capita exceeded 63,519 yuan, up by 11.8 percent. Output Value of Farming, Forestry, Animal Husbandry, and Fishery was 25.972 billion yuan. 2,017 industrial enterprises above the designated size realized added value of 100.326 billion yuan, up by 10.8 percent. The annual investment above the designated size in fixed assets came to 92.614 billion yuan, up by 23.7 percent. The annual import and export trade volume totaled 1.805 billion yuan, up by 10 percent. The annual actual transferred foreign investment is $ 526 million, up by 31.3 percent. The annual overall revenue totaled 18.063 billion yuan, up by 15.6 percent.

By Yuan Hao (China Daily Shandong Bureau)