Penglai-fairyland of the Orient
By admin on 2015-01-07

Penglai City (Pénglái Shì 蓬莱市), is a port, a town and an administrative subdivision of Yantai City (Yāntái 烟台)in Shandong Province, northeastern China. The port was formerly called Dengzhou (dēngzhōu 登州). Penglai Water City or Water Fortress (shuíchéng 水城), a fortified harbor hidden from the sea, is one of China's oldest military ports, built in 1376 under the Ming Dynasty (míng dài 明代) and is a protected historical monument. It was "the harbor for the fleet of imperial war junks and town for the semi-imperial garrison." The Water City is currently being rebuilt at a cost of 500 million yuan (more than 60 million dollars). There is a plank walk along the cliffs nearby.

Penglai was the first port on the Shandong peninsula that was opened to foreigners in the 1800s, so it was the first place Christian missions were established. Subsequently, it was overshadowed by the port of Yantai, 55 miles to the west. Its scenery has earned the city fame as the fabled spot where the Eight Immortals set out floating over the ocean from the Red Cliffs (dān yá 丹崖) there. Because of this connection with the immortals, the Emperors Qin Shi Huang (qín shǐ huáng 秦始皇) and Han Wu Di (hàn wǔ dì 汉武帝) both came to Penglai looking for an elixir of immortality.

The city is also famous for its mirages out at sea, which are frequent during May and June.