After the 1876 Sino-British Treaty of Yantai, eight Western nations (UK, US, Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Italy, Portugal, and Belgium) set up embassies, hospitals, churches, schools, and maritime customs. Today, 15 of these western buildings remain in Beihai. It officially became an international tourist spot in 1982.
City timeline
December 4, 1949: Beihai became a town of Hepu County under the Communist Party of China .
January 1951: a province-administered city of Guangdong
May 1951: entrusted to Guangxi
March 1952: officially administered by Guangxi
May 1955: Administered by Guangdong again
1956: reduced to a county-level city
1958: reduced to Beihai People's Commune of Hepu County
1959: county-class town
1964: restored to county-class city
June 1965: Administered by Guangxi again
October 1983: restored to prefecture-level city
