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 (旅遊對外開放城市) 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

Beihai has a long history. 111B.C. the empire set up Hepu shire, which embraces Beihai. In Qing dynasty, the government then set up a Beihai town mark, and that's the first time "Beihai" was seen. There is another saying that "Beihai" was named because of its position. Later Ch'in, Beihai port became a very important trade place over sea and became one of the starting ports of The Silk Road. In Song Dynasty, it was the important port of trade between China and Vietnam. 

The port opened to Malaysia, Burma, Vietnam, India and other more than than 10 countries in all in Ming Dynasty and lasted 1000 years or so. Between 1796 and 1893, the commerce in Beihai was flourishing, especially in fish culture. During the year empire Qianlong in the saddle, Beihai was in it's peak of business, while in the year empire Xianfeng in the saddle, Beihai's custom was 0.5 million liang silver. Beihai even had it's liners to Haikou, Guangzhou, Macao, Hongkong, Haifang and Singapore.

In the year 1876 after the Yantai Treaty signed by China and England. Beihai was listed to be the port opened to foreign country as well as Yichang, Wenzhou, and Qianghu. First England instaurate consuler, church, hospital, Costum, foreign firm, foundling and such a series of organizations, ,later Germen, Austria-hungry, French, Italy, Portugal, American and Belgium all came. That made Beihai a very prominent port in China. In 1929, It had received 538 ships with throughput 642900 tons. Beihai subsidiary bank of China bank was set up in 1915 and Central bank in 1927. Then there came plentiful buildings and architectures which remain to be precise culture relic nowadays.

After the new China come to existence in 1949, Beihai was under domination of Guangxi from 1965, june and became one of the 14 ports open to foreign countries in 1984, April.