Longgang District 龙港区

History

The port came before the district. In 1908 Xu Shichang (徐世昌), Viceroy of the Three Northeastern Provinces, had a British engineer survey the coast, and building began in October 1910 together with a rail spur, only to stop with the 1911 Revolution. Zhang Xueliang (张学良) restarted the works in 1930 until the Mukden Incident halted them again; the Manchukuo railway rebuilt port and spur from 1934 and finished in 1938. The 13-kilometre Huludao branch railway, still in use, runs from Huludao station on the Shenyang–Shanhaiguan line to Longgang station beside the port, and the port reopened to civilian shipping in 1984.

The district itself was created in 1983 as Huludao District under Jinzhou (锦州市), passed to the newly promoted city of Jinxi (锦西) in 1989, and took the name Longgang in 1994 when Jinxi became Huludao. The Longwan central business district (龙湾中央商务区) was added in 2016.

What to see

The Huludao Port Construction Commencement Monument (葫芦岛筑港开工纪念碑), dating from 1930, became a Liaoning provincial protected site in 1988; in 2014 the old port construction office building (葫芦岛筑港办公楼旧址) was added to the same listing. The district government's plans for a coastal-road tourism belt string together the monument, Tianjiao Mountain (天角山), the Huludao Shanzhuang (葫芦山庄) leisure farm, named a national cultural industry demonstration base, and the seaside at Wanghaisi (望海寺).

Wanghaisi takes its name from a temple, Wanghai Temple, since rebuilt on the shore; the neighbourhood historically served mainly as housing for the Bohai shipyard (渤海船舶重工). Founded in 1954, the shipyard builds civilian and naval ships and is described by Chinese Wikipedia as the birthplace of China's first nuclear submarine.

Highlights

• Huludao Port Construction Commencement Monument 葫芦岛筑港开工纪念碑: Monument of 1930, a Liaoning provincial protected site since 1988, joined by the old port office in 2014.
• Huludao Shanzhuang 葫芦山庄: Leisure farm named a national cultural industry demonstration base.
• Bohai shipyard 渤海船舶重工: Shipyard founded in 1954, where China's first nuclear submarine was built.