Weihai's three second acts

Bays and mountains

Follow the coastal highway as it transitions inland, and salt air gives way to mountain breeze. Likoushan, a hilly area in Huancui district, is a world apart. It is home to a green enclave of four villages that date back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

Forests blanket the rolling hills, and tea grows on the slopes. In the old villages, visitors wander narrow lanes past fruit and vegetable stalls, bakeries and cafes. Deep in the valley, 14 smart RVs sit tucked among persimmon trees.

It was not always so. The area was once scarred by abandoned quarries, idle farmhouses and stagnant village development. Over the past decade, local authorities have invested 430 million yuan in restoring mines, rivers and lakes and reforesting with native black pine and shrubs.

More than 400 vacant homes were revitalized, and the villages' scattered resources were brought under unified management. Once barren and run-down, the hills are now a quiet, livable suburban retreat with something to see for every season.

After the restoration, the local government set up a service center to run the four administrative villages as a single area.