Archaeologists have recently discovered that the Beidaihe resort, known as China's "summer capital", in north China's Hebei Province was popular as early as some 2,000 years ago.
"Judging from the many ruins and cultural relics that belong to the Qin Dynasty (221 B.C. to 206 B.C.), we have concluded that some 2,000 years ago the Beidaihe area had already had military facilities and flourishing streets, markets, wharves and even imperial Xanadus," said Bai Hongkui, a local archaeologist.
"But after the Qin Dynasty, Beidaihe was declined soon and gradually changed into a desolate place until some two hundred years ago," Bai said.
According to the archaeologist, there are likely to be rich cultural relics still buried under the ground in the Beidaihe area.
One of China's most famous seashore resorts, Beidaihe is some 300 km from Beijing and attracts millions of visitors in summer.
(People’s Daily 10/17/2000)
