Shanhaiguan, former town, eastern Hebei sheng (province), northeastern China. It lies on the coast of the Bo Hai (Gulf of Chihli) just northeast of Qinhuangdao, into which it was incorporated in 1954.
Until the 17th century the area was a strategic site that played a major role in the defense of the Beijing area from the northeastern approach. Shanhaiguan (“Pass Between the Mountains and the Sea”) was the place at which the route from Beijing into Manchuria (Northeast China) passed through a narrow defile along the coast and where, at the same time, the Great Wall of China reached the coast. A pass (Linyuguan, or Yuguan) was built there in 583 during the Sui dynasty (581–618).
In 1381, early in the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), the old, deteriorated pass was replaced with a new one and was given the name Shanhaiguan. During the Qing dynasty (1644–1911/12), a county seat called Linyu was set up there (1737). It lost its strategic status in the 20th century, however, when the rise of nearby Qinhuangdao took away much of its importance while the Manchurian trade, which had previously passed through Shanhaiguan to Beijing, was diverted to Dalian (Dairen), in Liaoning province. Shanhaiguan’s capture by Japanese forces operating in southern Manchuria (January 1932) placed that entire region under Japanese control and helped set the strategic stage for the establishment of the Japanese-sponsored puppet regime of Manchukuo.
Shanhaiguan has been a district within the city of Qinhuangdao since 1954. The local economy is based on shipbuilding; the manufacture of bridge-construction components, building materials, machinery, and chemicals; and food processing. Shanhaiguan Pass, referred to as “the first pass under heaven” in China, plus other famous scenic spots in the surrounding area, has made Shanhaiguan a popular tourist destination. Both a railway and an expressway from Beijing to Shenyang (Liaoning province) pass through the area. A regional airport provides air service to major cities in the country.