Penglai City

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Penglai City (simplified Chinese: 蓬莱市; pinyin: Pénglái Shì), is a port, a town and an administrative subdivision of Yantai City, Shandong Province, China. The port was formerly called Teng-chou (Wade-Giles).

Penglai is the northernmost part of mainland Yantai and in central Yantai. Except for the Bohai Sea to the north, Penglai is entirely surrounded by Yantai: west of Fushan District, east of Longkou City, north of Qixia City. Its limits in geographic coordinates are 120°35'-121°09' E, 37°25'-37°50' N.

Penglai was the first port on the Shandong peninsula that was opened to foreigners in the 1800s^[1], so it was the first place Christian missions were established. Subsequently, it was overshadowed by the port of Yantai (Chefoo), 55 miles to the west.^[1] Its scenery has earned the city fame as the fabled landing spot on Earth for the Eight Immortals. The city is also famous for its mirages out at sea, which are frequent during May and June.

374,400 Penglai citizens are in the agricultural industry, the remaining 75,600 are in various other sectors.

[edit] Tourism

Penglai has ranked as one of China's best domestic tourist destinations.^[2] Recently, more than US$ 25 million has been invested into restoring and developing it's characteristic tourist areas, including the Penglai Pavilion and the Penglai Water Fortress.

Tourism is a traditional industry of Penglai, it has really matured in the last few years, becoming the mainstay and leading industry of Penglai’s economy. Each year, more than 2 million tourists are expected.

[edit] Wine Industry

The production of wine is the second largest industry in the Shandong Province, second only to agriculture. But in Penglai, tourism replaces agriculture as the primary industry and wine-making maintains second place.

Geographically, the southern hills average an elevation of 200 meters, while the coastal areas remain relatively flat. Most of the soil is loose, well-ventilated, and rich in minerals and organic matters that enable full development of the root systems.

The wineries are mainly distributed in the Nanwang Grape Valley and along the Yan-Peng Sightseeing Highway. Main varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Gernischt, Merlot, Riesling and Chardonnay are all at 20 years of age, considered to be the golden stage for these grapes. Most of them maintain an average saccharinity of above 20%. The Cabernet is especially typical, with good colority and a dense fragrance.

[edit] Administration

The city contains seven townships (镇), three districts (区), and five street offices (街道办事处):

Beigou Town (北沟镇): contains Xicheng Port Industrial Park (西城临港工业区)
Chaoshui Town (潮水镇)
Cunli Town (村里集镇)
Daliu Town (大柳行镇): contains a namesake industrial park
Daxindian Town (大辛店镇)
Dengzhou Street Office (登州街道办事处): where Qin Shi Huang reputedly visited to gain immortality
Liujiagou Town (刘家沟镇)
Nanwang Street Office (南王街道办事处)
Penglai Economic Development Zone (蓬莱经济开发区): contains three industrial parks
Penglai Tourism-Vacation Area (蓬莱旅游度假区)
Penglai Urban District (蓬莱城区)
Penglaige Street Office (蓬莱阁街道办事处)
Xiaomenjia Town (小门家镇)
Xingang Street Office (新港街道办事处)
Zijing Street Office (紫荆山街道办事处)

Together, the three qu (zone, district, and area) co-exist with the coastal Xingang Street Office.

[edit] Famous people

Henry Luce - born in Penglai, founder of TIME, Fortune, and Life.
Meng Xuenong - vice-governor and acting governor of Shanxi (as of 2007) and disgraced former Mayor of Beijing Municipality