Beihai: Historic part of departure

Beihai of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region is largely visited by people for the pleasant climate and the reputed "silver beach", which boasts fine, smooth sand glittering with silver light.

What many tourists easily ignore about the resort-city is its important past being a port of departure of the historic Maritime Silk Road. Only at that time, it was widely known as Hepu.

Historical records wrote that during the reign of Liu Ce the Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty (157-87 BC), official envoys and traders set out from Hepu and Xuwen in Guangdong province. They sailed to India and Sri Lanka, trading silk and gold for pearls, azure stones and other treasures rarely seen in China. The transmission routes extended to the Persian Gulf and norther part of Africa after the Song Dynasty (960-1279).