Yāntái History

History

Starting life as a defence outpost and fishing village, Yāntái’s name literally means ‘Smoke Terrace’; wolf-dung fires were lit on the headland during the Ming dynasty to warn fishing fleets of approaching pirates. Its anonymity abruptly ended in the late 19th century when the Qing government, reeling from defeat in the Opium War, handed Yāntái to the British who established a treaty port here, calling it Chefoo (Zhifu). Several nations, Japan and the USA among them, had trading establishments here and the town became something of a resort area.