New life for an old port

Residents of Beihai in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region savor their ancient past as they adapt to changing times, Li Yang reports.

Beihai city of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region was once a starting point of the Maritime Silk Road for China's trade with Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Africa after the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Today most of the shops along the main business street near the old fishing port have become bars, coffee shops, eateries and grocers. Locals say the area was very prosperous in the 1930s and again in the '80s, when China was open to the world economically and culturally.

Beihai's position as an international trade portal actually dates back to much earlier than the glory days of the Silk Road. About 400 ancient tombs from Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) have been excavated in Hepu county north of Beihai since the 1970s and thousands more remain untouched underground, rare in South China.