Ancient port city in Guangxi rebranded based on its contribution to historical Maritime Silk Road

Photo shows an exhibit displayed at the Hepu Han Dynasty Museum in Beihai City, southwest China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (People's Daily Online/Qin Xin)

An ancient port located in Hepu county of Beihai, southwest China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is one of the three ports of departure for the Maritime Silk Road, which dates back to the Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD).

The port city has been a place known for its burgeoning traffic and thriving businesses throughout Chinese history. Its prosperity is recorded in over 20,000 relics, 1,300 antiques and 1,200 ancient tombs discovered in the locality.

A visitor looks at exhibits at the Hepu Han Dynasty Museum in Beihai City, southwest China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Photo/Courtesy of Publicity Department of the Beihai Municipal Committee)

The Hepu Han Dynasty Museum in Beihai City collects and studies the excavated artefacts and local heirlooms, ranging across a large variety and covering different eras.

The museum has since gone online as well. Nowadays, citizens can fully appreciate the delicate beauty of 362 exhibits and 41 highlights in the display, just by visiting its official platform on WeChat, a commonly used social media app in China.

A visitor takes photos of an exhibit at the Hepu Han Dynasty Museum in Beihai City, southwest China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (People's Daily Online/Qin Xin)

Visitors can not only learn about the inherited culture of the Maritime Silk Road, but can also dive into the local history of the city as well, as one local citizen commented.

Over the years, Beihai City has worked towards building a distinctive style of tourism, all by tapping into its profound cultural heritage based on the Maritime Silk Road, local fishing customs and its pearl business. Seaside resorts, leisure cruise marinas and tourist towns have flourished and fueled the local tourism industry.

During the nights, an interactive show can be seen performed on stage along the seaside. (People's Daily Online/Qin Xin)

During the nights, an interactive show can be seen performed on stage along the seaside, which tells the story of a pearl fisher’s life and the emergence of the Maritime Silk Road in historical times. More than 100 actors have fully committed themselves to the performance, inviting audiences from near and far to participate in a vivid dialogue with the locality’s own ancient history. 

Actors have fully committed themselves to the performance, inviting audiences from near and far to participate in a vivid dialogue with the locality’s own ancient history. (Photo/Courtesy of Publicity Department of the Beihai Municipal Committee)