北海：海湾明珠

北海：海湾明珠

许你一座城，如北海，若何？

这是一座“年轻”的古城，也可以说是一座古老的“新城”。它每天都在变化出新的样子，但也始终努力坚守原貌中最宝贵的部分——清新的空气、洁净的海洋，以及一片悠然自得的心境。

BEIHAI
A PEARL AT THE SEASIDE OF THE GULF

It is a young “ancient” city, and also an ancient “young” city.

People who were born here, and who grew up here are very content with what they have. They find their inner peace easily.

Text by Ge Rufeng&Yan Junling Translations by Tao Wenjia采访支持：中共北海市委宣传部、北海市政府新闻办

1. Morning in Qiao Town (Photo by Mattew)

侨港清晨 （摄 /Mattew）

2.Red Woods of Golden Bay (Photo by Wang Chengyao)

金海湾红树林（摄 /王成瑶）

3. Northern Bay(Photo by Wei Ke)

北部湾畔（摄/韦可）

7000 years ago, there were already human activities in Beihai. At the time, it was called the Baiyue.

Three sides of the city are surrounded by the sea. It is said that every road in Beihai leads to the ocean. In the Han Dynasty, the city's geographical advantages were noticed∶ it faces Southeast Asia and has Southwest China at its back. So it became the most convenient outlet to the sea in Southwest China. Hepu Port was one of the starting ports of the "Maritime Silk Road". Fleets departed from Hepu and Xuwen to sail along the Indian Ocean coastline. From then on, Chinese people actively went out all over the world. Archaeological finds confirm the prosperity of Beihai's Maritime civilisation. In the past 40 years, the number of archaeological finds in Beihai numbers more than 10,000. Many are glasses, and pieces of jewellery which were imported from other countries, so they could be products of foreign trade in ancient times. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Beihai became an open port for trade, and the Chinese and western cultures integrated once again in this ancient city.

Beihai now has many different titles∶ Chinese historical and cultural city, China's first coastal city, famous tourist city of China, China's top ten liveable cities.

Beihai has a subtropical maritime monsoon climate, with warm winters and cool summers. From the east to the west, there is the 24 km long Silver Bay with a flat sandy bay and white sands. Weizhou Island, the youngest volcanic island in China, has beautiful coral under the water. The coastal wetland park also has large tracts of mangrove forest ...

The great ecological environment has been a fortune that people in Beihai are very proud of. They feel they have a duty to guard this pure land. Before liberation, there were only few factories in Behai. Even after the reform and opening up policy, the city continues to focus on the development of pollutionfree industries such as electronic information.

In 2000, the government began to develop the Silver Beach tourism economy belt. 3,500 citizens reviewed the plan and they decided on the principle of not destroying the nature and ecology of the silver beach. Such is what the Beihai people will insist, and also why this city is so confident and happy.

At the seaside of the Beibu Gulf, even after thousands of years of history, the city is still full of the spirit of leisure and contentment.

北海的空气中，负离子含量数是内地城市的50 至 l00 倍。这意味着，每吸一口北海的空气，就像是给肺部做了一次天然的 SPA。

作为一个从汉代就开始呈现贸易的繁荣，并经历数次开放、开发的都市，这样的环境状态是不多见的。

大约7000年前，北海已有人类活动，称百越。至汉朝，北海背靠大西南、面向东南亚的地缘优势开始显现，成为西南地区最便捷的出海口。合浦港是海上丝绸之路的始发港之一，船队从合浦、徐闻等地出发，沿印度洋海岸线航行，各种考古发现印证了当时北海海洋文明的繁华。40多年来，北海出土文物逾万件，其中不少玻璃制品、饰品属于舶来品，当为古时对外商贸输入的货物。清末，北海开埠通商，中西文化再次在这座古城交汇融合。改革开放后，北海作为第一批沿海开放城市，再一次得到了历史赋予的机会。

如今，这座有着千年历史的城市有了诸多头衔：中国历史文化名城、中国首批沿海开放城市、中国著名旅游城市、中国十大宜居城市……宜居，大约是北海人最为自傲，也最为欣然的一种评价——无论是土生土长的本地人，还是大开发时期带着“海洋梦”穿越了大半个中国，来此奋斗和定居了的内陆人。

北海人可以把家常的日子过得犹如度假一样，这座城市是为生存奋斗的竞技场，也同时是充满“野趣”、可以放松享受生活的后花园。冬无严寒，夏无酷暑，东西绵延24公里的银滩滩平沙白，中国最年轻的火山岛涠洲岛水下有漂亮的珊瑚，滨海湿地公园还有大片大片的红树林……可以随时拔脚出发，去登高望远，去沙滩漫步，去挖番薯，去钓鱼。空气和阳光让这座城市，像这里的生猛海鲜一样新鲜甜美。即便是长年游人密布的银滩，海水透明度也超过我国沿海海水平均标准的一倍以上。

生态环境一直是北海人引以为豪的财富，他们有一种自我意识：那就是要守卫这一方净土。解放前，这里几乎没有重工业，即便在产业有了跨越发展的今天，这座城市的工业布局仍然坚守环保的高门槛，整个90平方公里的城区划为禁燃区，看不到一条烟囱，重点发展电子信息、旅游服务业等无污染产业。2000 年，银滩规划旅游经济带，3500 名市民评议方案，原则是不破坏银滩的自然与生态。这便是北海人的坚持，也是北海这座城自信与幸福的根源。

在北部湾畔，历经千年风雨涤荡，这座城市依旧一副闲庭信步、宠辱不惊的样子。生于斯、长于斯的人们小富即安、恬淡悠然。

1. Christianity Church of Weizhou (Photo by Zeng Jian)

涠洲天主教堂 （摄/曾建）

2. Villagers in Xieyang Island (Photo by Mao Wei)

斜阳岛人家（摄/毛卫）

3. Old Street of Beihai (Ju Yunhua)

北海老街(琚运华)

4. Weizhou Island (Zeng Jian)

涠洲岛（曾建）