In Search of Immortality

Qinhuangdao is largely a tourist city, attracting more than double it's population between May and August. The city takes it's name from the first emperor Qin who is credited with unifying the warring states that now make up modern China. It is from the Shanhaiguan district of Qinhuangdao that he began construction of the Great Wall. Like many great leaders, as he grew older Emperor Qin was deeply afraid of dying. He searched China far and wide for the fabled elixir of life but was unable to find it so he issued a reconnaissance mission overseas from Qinhuangdao. However, his subject Xu Fu along with hundreds of men and women aboard the ship never returned. Legend says that they landed on what is now Japan and decided to settle there oppose to return empty-handed.

Today, Qinhuangdao is a steady city. Although not quite as modern as many of its coastal counterparts, it is rapidly developing fueled by tourist revenues. Bursts of shiny establishments can be seen intermingled with the city's dirtier underbelly. To the East, the outskirts of the city yield summer resorts along its beachy coastline and over-priced establishments to capitalize on the Great Wall and ancient town of Shanhaiguan. Many hotels and "club houses" lay dormant in the cold season and reawaken once the summer begins. The best way to tour is by taking a high-speed "D" train to Qinhuangdao from Beijing and transfering for a short ride on one of the city's buses. TV and English translations can be found on just about every bus but most locals only speak Mandarin with a bold Northern accent that can be trying to even fellow traveling Chinese.

To the West, the city is bordered by the farmlands and industrial parks of Hebei. During the day, vendors pepper the streets selling various local foods such as egg wraps with vegetables and sausage. Laborers may be seen driving around donkeys or vespa-pulled carts with teetering towers of chairs strapped together with flimsy rope. Hutongs or old alleyways snake behind the shadows of brightly-lit hotels and shopping centers. Old people gather in the many parks to do exercises, gossip, or play what seems to be croquet. For the working, the days are a standard length but most residents will return home for as much as 3 hours to eat or catch a nap during the mid-day. The city certainly moves, but at its own pace-- unrushed by anything other than its own purpose.