Where does the Great Wall end?

The Ming Great Wall meets the sea at Old Dragon's Head, just south of Shanhaiguan in Qinhuangdao. Its western end is at Jiayuguan in Gansu.

Why is Qinhuangdao named after the Qin emperor?

According to tradition, the First Emperor of Qin stayed here in 215 BCE while sending expeditions to sea in search of the immortals. The name, “island of the Qin emperor”, refers to a small peninsula at the site of the port.

What is Beidaihe known for?

Beidaihe is a seaside resort developed from 1898, first by foreign residents of Beijing and Tianjin and later by the Chinese state. It has beaches, villas, bird-watching in the coastal wetlands, and is known for the summer retreats of China's leadership.

Port · Historic city · Scenic area · Hebei

Qinhuangdao

秦皇岛 (Qínhuángdǎo)

Where the Great Wall reaches the sea

Qinhuangdao is a port city on the Bohai coast of north-eastern Hebei, named after the First Emperor of Qin, who is said to have visited in 215 BCE in search of immortality. It includes Shanhaiguan, the fortified pass where the Ming Great Wall meets the sea, the seaside resort of Beidaihe and one of China's largest coal-shipping ports.

ProvinceHebei

Key facts

Province: Hebei
Administrative level: Prefecture-level city
Area: about 7,800 km²[1]
Resident population: 3.14 million(as of 2020 census)[2]
Shanhaiguan built: 1381
UNESCO World Heritage: The Great Wall (1987), shared[3]

Overview

Qinhuangdao stretches along a coast of sandy beaches and small headlands between the Yanshan hills and the sea, on the narrow corridor that links the North China Plain with the north-east. That position gave Shanhaiguan its strategic role for centuries. The modern port was opened in 1898 and grew with the export of coal from the Kaiping mines; it is still a major terminal for coal shipped south from Shanxi and Inner Mongolia.

Beidaihe, developed as a summer resort for foreign residents and Chinese officials from the end of the nineteenth century, remains the best-known beach resort of north China, and the national leadership has traditionally held summer meetings there.

Names and nicknames

天下第一关 (Tiānxià Dìyī Guān)
“First Pass Under Heaven”
The inscription over the east gate of Shanhaiguan, often applied to the whole city.
港城 (Gǎngchéng)
“port city”
Local name for the city, which grew around its harbour from 1898.

History

The coast here is associated with early imperial journeys: the First Emperor of Qin is recorded as travelling to Jieshi to seek the immortals in 215 BCE, and Cao Cao wrote his poem on viewing the sea from Jieshi in 207. The Ming built the Shanhai Pass in 1381 as the eastern anchor of the Great Wall. In 1644 its commander Wu Sangui let the Manchu army through, which decided the fall of the Ming. In 1898 the Qing opened Qinhuangdao as a trading port, and Beidaihe was set aside as a resort in the same year.

215 BCE
The First Emperor at Jieshi
Qin Shi Huang had an inscription carved at Jieshi and sent men to sea in search of the elixir of life; the city's name recalls the visit.
207
Cao Cao views the sea
Returning from his campaign against the Wuhuan, Cao Cao climbed Jieshi and wrote “Viewing the Blue Sea”.
1381
Shanhaiguan built
The Ming general Xu Da fortified the pass between the mountains and the sea, where the wall ends at Old Dragon's Head.
1644
Battle of Shanhai Pass
Wu Sangui allied with the Manchu prince Dorgon to defeat Li Zicheng's army, opening the way for the Qing conquest.
1898
Port opened and Beidaihe resort designated
The Qing opened Qinhuangdao to foreign trade and set aside Beidaihe for foreign and Chinese summer residents.
1984
Opened as a coastal city
Qinhuangdao was one of the fourteen coastal cities opened to foreign investment.

Landmarks

Historic site
Shanhaiguan
山海关 (Shānhǎi Guān)
Walled pass town with the Tower of the First Pass Under Heaven and the Great Wall running north into the hills.
Historic site
Old Dragon's Head
老龙头 (Lǎolóngtóu)
The point where the Great Wall runs into the sea, with the Chenghai Tower on a stone jetty.
Historic site
Jiaoshan Great Wall
角山长城 (Jiǎoshān Chángchéng)
The first mountain section of the wall north of Shanhaiguan, climbing steeply with views over the coast.
Temple or shrine
Mengjiangnü Temple
孟姜女庙 (Mèngjiāngnǚ Miào)
Shrine to the legendary woman whose weeping for her husband, a wall labourer, brought part of the Great Wall down.
Nature
Beidaihe
北戴河 (Běidàihé)
Beaches, pine-covered headlands and early twentieth-century villas; Pigeon's Nest Park is a noted place for watching sunrise and migrating birds.

Neighbourhoods

Haigang District
海港区 (Hǎigǎng Qū)
The port and the commercial centre of the city.
Beidaihe District
北戴河区 (Běidàihé Qū)
The resort district to the south-west, with its villas and beaches.
Shanhaiguan District
山海关区 (Shānhǎiguān Qū)
The walled pass town at the eastern end of the city.

Food

Mantis shrimp
皮皮虾 (pípíxiā)
Steamed Bohai mantis shrimp, eaten in spring when the females carry roe.
Garlic scallops
蒜蓉扇贝 (suànróng shànbèi)
Bohai scallops grilled or steamed on the half shell with garlic and glass noodles.
Shanhaiguan hotpot
浑锅 (húnguō)
A copper pot of pork, meatballs and vegetables in rich broth, cooked over charcoal.

Culture

Qinhuangdao's culture combines the frontier traditions of the Great Wall garrison with those of a seaside resort. The legend of Mengjiangnü, one of the four great folk legends of China, is attached to Shanhaiguan. Changli county, west of the city, grows wine grapes and has one of the oldest-established wine regions in China, and the Beidaihe wetlands are a major stop on the East Asian–Australasian flyway for migrating birds.

东临碣石，以观沧海。

Dōng lín Jiéshí, yǐ guān cānghǎi.

“In the east I come to Jieshi, to gaze on the blue sea.”

— Cao Cao, “Viewing the Blue Sea” (观沧海), 207

Getting around

Qinhuangdao, Beidaihe and Shanhaiguan stations are on the Tianjin–Qinhuangdao and Qinhuangdao–Shenyang lines, which link the coast with Beijing, Tianjin and the north-east.
Qinhuangdao Beidaihe Airport lies in Changli county to the south-west.
Buses run along the coast between Beidaihe, the city centre and Shanhaiguan.

Day trips

Mount Jieshi
碣石山 (Jiéshí Shān)
The hill in Changli county generally identified with the Jieshi of the First Emperor and Cao Cao.
Nandaihe
南戴河 (Nándàihé)
Beach resort with sand dunes across the Dai River from Beidaihe.
Zushan
祖山 (Zǔ Shān)
Granite peaks and forest in the Yanshan hills of Qinglong county.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Qinhuangdao Municipal People's Government — Qinhuangdao Municipal People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
Seventh National Population Census communiqués — National Bureau of Statistics of China (retrieved 27 September 2026)
The Great Wall — UNESCO World Heritage Centre (retrieved 27 September 2026)
Qinhuangdao — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)

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