The Beidaihe Beach Resort stretches 10 km (6.2 mi) from east to west, from the Yinjiao Pavilion to the mouth of the Daihe river. The beach itself is covered with fine yellow sand stretching some 100 meters to the sea. The water is shallow. Mount Lianfeng near the beach has two peaks covered by abundant green pines and cypresses. Lush vegetation, caves, decorated pavilions, secluded paths and winding bridges have made it attractive to visitors from throughout China.
Because of its proximity to the capital, Beidaihe has been the location of many important official conferences, and has become well known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s summer retreat. It is still commonly used by the CCP's highest leadership each July to slip away from the summer heat of Beijing and to plan important strategies in the privacy Beidaihe offers. "Beidaihe," an American diplomat once said, "is China's 'smoke-filled room.'"[2]
After Mao Zedong led the CCP to power in 1949, the new rulers also developed a taste for seaside atmosphere. Mao himself had a summer resort here. Sanatoriums sprang up to reward the efforts of model workers from every industry. A very large Friendship Guesthouse was constructed in 1954, one of dozens across China, to receive the Soviet "elder brothers" who came to assist Chinese development prior to tensions emerging between Soviet and Chinese leadership.
The most infamous event which occurred here involved Lin Biao, who on 13 September 1971, after he was accused of plotting a coup, fled to his villa here with his wife and a son and boarded a plane for the Soviet Union at the local airport; the plane crashed in Mongolia, killing everyone on board.[3]
These conferences were abandoned by order of Hu Jintao in 2003, mainly for two reasons. First, a conference in a resort area appeared to contradict Hu and Wen Jiabao's goal in projecting a frugal image for the party. Second, it was a desire of the leadership under Hu to work through formal party and state mechanisms rather than informal gatherings.[4] However, the Beidaihe meetings resumed in July 2007, when political deliberation took place in anticipation of the 17th Party Congress.
Administrative divisions
There are two subdistricts and two towns in Beidaihe.[5]
^2011年统计用区划代码和城乡划分代码：北戴河区 (in Chinese). National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China. Archived from the original on November 27, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
