The legendary landing site of ancient immortals and one of the few places that reliably produce mirages in China, Yantai has long been regarded as a magical place. Legends say palaces on Yantai's neighboring sea - actually the result of mirages - were home to the immortals. Eight of them arrived in the city's Penglai area from their celestial palaces across the sea using astounding means of transport - riding a flute, a basket, a gourd and other everyday items.

While travelers to the area today are not likely to meet an immortal, they do have the opportunity to learn something about a longer life - Yantai is home to more than 400 people aged above 100.

With the good natural environment and a pleasant climate, Yantai is now recognized as an internationally renowned tourism resort, home to a string of scenic spots including Changdao Island - where "celestial palaces" can occasionally be sighted, the Penglai Pavilion built according to the legends of the eight immortals, Kunyu Mountains National Forest Park and Yangma Island.

Pivotal marine role

Today, Yantai's fame is not only built on its appeal to tourists, but also its recent economic achievements.

Located in the east of the Shandong Peninsula and neighboring the Bohai Bay and Yellow Sea, Yantai has distinct advantages both geographically and economically. It plays a pivotal role in marine transportation in north and east China.

With 900 km of coastline and a total area of 13,700 sq km, the city has a population of 6.52 million.

Last year, the city's GDP reached of 370.18 billion yuan, ranking No 2 in Shandong province and No 20 in China.

Yantai is also a primary supplier of both marine and farm products. The sea around the city is home to more than 200 aquatic species, making it one of the important fishing centers in the country. Its vegetables and fruit including apples, cherries and pears enjoy popularity at home and abroad.

The city is also rich in petroleum, natural gas and other mineral resources. To date, more than 70 types of minerals have been discovered in the area. It tops the nation in gold reserves.

Wine industry

Yantai is the birthplace of China's wine industry. In 1892, Changyu Wine Co Ltd was founded in Yantai as the first wine company in China.

In 1915, Changyu wines won four gold medals and prime quality certificates at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, marking the first time China-made wines won awards at an international exhibition and making Changyu wines known globally.

Yantai is the only place in Asia acknowledged as an "International Grape and Wine City", a rare honor that was bestowed by the International Office of Vine and Wine (OIV) in 1987.

At the first Yantai International Wine Festival in 2007, OIV Chairman Peter Hayes remarked simply: "Yantai wines, very good!" when he sampled a Changyu cabernet.

Located at the same latitude and endowed with soils and ecology similar to Bordeaux, France, Yantai is considered the world's seventh-largest grape growing region.

Its grape-growing zone is home to almost 100 vintners with a combined production of 226,000 tons, more than 40 percent of the total in the country.

Changyu Wine is now the leading Chinese brand in overseas markets.

Innovative strength

Yantai is also home to a number of tech-intensive businesses, including Dongyue Auto Works, Doosan Infracore China Corp, Yantai Raffles Shipyard and Shandong Denghai Seeds Co Ltd.

The city has nurtured a range of international brands and products, including Changyu Wine, Longda Food, Linglong Tire and Luhua peanut oil.

In January Yantai was listed among 17 pilot cities for innovation in China.

Benefiting from the city's innovative strength, its high-tech companies are rapidly developing new energies, approaches to energy conservation and environmental protection, new materials, biology, marine R&D and high-tech services.

Through technological innovations, Wanhua Group has become the top producer of MDI - a chemical used to make polyurethane - in Asia and No 5 in the world as it increased annual output from 10,000 tons to 800,000 tons.

Another example of innovation is Luye Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, which in partnership with Yantai University, has now developed more than 30 products with independent intellectual property rights.

Opening up

Yantai became increasingly globalized after the State Council approved it among the first 14 open coastal cities in China in 1984.

The city has gained global recognition through hosting international events such as the APEC International Trade Fair, APEC Investment Mart, Asia-Europe Tourism Organization Co-operation Forum and Exhibition, the International Fruit, Vegetable and Food Fair and the International Wine Festival.

Yantai has also forged friendly relations with 17 cities in 11 countries, including the United States, Japan, South Korea, Britain, and France.

To attract overseas investors, the city has built a State-level economic and technological development zone, a business park for returning overseas Chinese scholars, a bonded port area and a high-tech park.

Since 1984, when the first $70,000 was invested in a foreign-funded project in Yantai, the city has been the recipient of 11,000 such projects whose combined investment totals $18.69 billion, including 70 by Fortune 500 companies.

Foreign capital has made great contributions in boosting the city's industrial strength. Today, Yantai has a number of competitive industries including cars, computers, mobile phones, wine and gold.

New potential industries such as nuclear power equipment manufacturing, metallurgy, chemical and bio-pharmaceuticals are also flourishing with the help of foreign investment.

Foreign-invested enterprises are now responsible for about 80 percent of Yantai's international trade volume and nearly half of the city's total tax revenues.

At the same time more than 100 enterprises in the city have invested in over 30 countries and overseas regions.

Yantai in the future

A new railway network now partly operational will when completed link Yantai with neighboring cities including Dezhou, Longkou, Qingdao, Rongcheng and Weihai.