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Brief History
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Weihaiwei was a seaport in Shantung province, northeast China at the eastern end of a peninsula on the north coast, 40 miles east of Chefoo and on the southern shore of the Strait of Pohai. It was a naval base, ship-repairing center, fishing port; providing a good harbour protected by Liu-Kung Island. The Chinese fleet was destroyed here by the Japanese in 1895 and the port was occupied by Japanese 1895-98. The Japanese had been forced to revoke their occupation of nearby Port Arthur by the combined intervention of France, Germany and Russia in 1895. Russia later coerced a lease from China to construct a railway line across the Liaodong Railway. This growing Russian involvement in the region was a major spur to the British to become involved and request a treaty port of her own at Weihaiwei. The strategic rationale was that it could be used as a naval base and would allow Britain to quickly respond to any further Russian territorial ambitions. It also cemented a growing friendship with the Japanese who were also suspicious at Russian growing strength in an area it felt was of strategic concern of their own. In 1902 Britain and Japan would sign the Anglo-Japanese Treaty and in 1904 - 1905 the Japanese would defeat Russia in the Russo-Japanese War with Britain helping to ensure that no other powers became involved in support of their new Japanese Ally.
Weihaiwei was returned to China in 1930.
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