Zhifu District 芝罘区

Setting and landscape

The district is ringed by hills on three sides and open to the sea on the fourth. The south and west are fairly flat, while the northern shore is a broken line of headlands and bays that forms four large natural harbours. The island's shape is said to resemble a giant lingzhi fungus, which gives the first character of the name. The Records of the Grand Historian (史记) say that the First Emperor of Qin climbed Zhifu Mountain (之罘山) on his eastern tour in 219 BC.

History

People lived here about 7,000 years ago, according to finds at the Baishi village site (白石村遗址). After repeated raids by Japanese pirates, the Ming founded the Qishan garrison (奇山守御千户所) in 1398, and a Ming wolf-smoke beacon set up against the pirates on Yantai Hill gave the city, 'smoke tower', its name. After the Treaty of Tianjin, the port opened to foreign trade on 22 August 1861, and by 1932 seventeen countries had set up consulates on and around Yantai Hill. In 1892 the overseas Chinese Zhang Bishi (张弼士) founded the Changyu (张裕) winery in Yantai. When Yantai became a prefecture-level city in November 1983, the old city became Zhifu District.

What to see

Yantai Hill (烟台山), 53 metres high in the north of the district, carries 38 well-preserved modern-era buildings, many of them former consulates, listed together as a national key protected site in 2006. Several now house museums: the former US consul's residence is the Yantai Port Opening Exhibition Hall (烟台开埠陈列馆), and a customs officer's house is the Bing Xin Memorial Hall (冰心纪念馆). There is also a lighthouse on the hill.

Suochengli (所城里), the old Qishan garrison town, keeps a crossroads street plan and courtyard houses from the Ming, Qing and early Republic, and has been a Shandong provincial protected site since 2006. Xinhua quotes a resident saying that the Xuanhua Gate (宣化门), lost for almost a century, has been restored, and reports that visitors can hear Jiaodong drum singing (胶东大鼓) in the old courtyards. The Changyu Wine Culture Museum (张裕酒文化博物馆) shows a century-old underground wine cellar and an inscription by Sun Yat-sen (孙中山).

Highlights

• Yantai Hill 烟台山: Hill with 38 preserved modern-era buildings, many of them former consulates; a national key protected site since 2006.
• Suochengli 所城里: Ming garrison town of 1398 with a crossroads plan and old courtyard houses.
• Changyu Wine Culture Museum 张裕酒文化博物馆: Museum of the winery founded in 1892, with a century-old underground cellar.
• Zhifu Island 芝罘岛: Tied island at the northern tip that gave the district its name.