Penglai City

Penglai City (zh-sp|s=蓬莱市|p=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 [http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/hst/asian/NewForcesinOldChina/chap5.html Brown, Arthur Judson (1904) "New forces in old China: an unwelcome but inevitable awakening" F.H. Revell Co., New York, Chapter IV] [http://worldcat.org/oclc/2177558 OCLC 2177558] ] , 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. 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.

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.

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

Notes

ee also

*Penglai Mountain
*Penglai Pagoda

External links

* [http://www.penglai.gov.cn/ 中国蓬莱 (Penglai, China)] : official municipal government (in Simplified Chinese)

* [http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/811/2006/05/07/[e-mail] Rare Mirage Lasts for 4 Hours off East China Shore]