Huludao is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Liaoning Province, China. It is one of the two principal cities (the other one is Jinzhou) in the Liaoxi Corridor Known as Jinxi until 1994, Huludao has a total area of 10,415 square kilometers and a population of 2.87 million, of which some 531,000 live in the city proper. Its name literally means "Gourd Island".

Suizhong County, which lies within the prefecture, is the hometown of China's first astronaut Yang Liwei.

◆ Geography

Huludao is a coastal city on the Bohai Sea. It lies in the southwest of Liaoning Province, at the border with Hebei, forming the Bohai Sea economic rim with such cities as Dalian, Yingkou, Qinhuangdao, and Qingdao. As the first city outside the Shanhai Pass, it serves as the gateway into the Northeast.

Huludao is situated in the north temperate zone with a continental monsoon climate that brings cold dry winters and hot humid summers. Annual precipitation averages between 550-650mm while the year round mean temperature is 8.5-9.5℃.

◆ Administrative Divisions

Huludao has six immediate sub-municipal divisions: Longgang District, Lianshan District, Nanpiao District, Xingcheng City, Suzhong County, and Jianchang County.

◆ Economy

More than forty different mineral resources have been discovered in the Huludao region, including gold, zinc, molybdenum, lime and manganese. Just west of the city center, the town of Yangjiazhangzi is an important global center for molybdenum mining. Huludao boasts a long coastline of 237 kilometers, and the surrounding waters are rich in fish, shrimp and shellfish, with plentiful reserves of natural gas and oil. With a climate suitable for the cultivation of fruit trees, Suizhong county is home to the Qiansuo orchard, Asia's largest, which grows a wide variety of fruits including apples, pears, nectarines and jujubes.

Huludao's economy is dominated by some of China's most important industrial enterprises, providing employment for a large proportion of the population. These include Asia's biggest zinc manufacturing operation, the Huludao Zinc Smelter, the Jinxi oil refinery and Jinhua chemical engineering.

The oilfield off the coast of Suizhong county produces five million tons of crude oil annually. Electricity generation is set to increase annual capacity to 3.6 million kilowatts.

Within the city itself are special development areas designed to attract foreign investment to the region, including the Huludao Economic Development Zone and the Huludao Hi-tech Development zone, which is the location for a Siemens turbomachinery plant.

◆ Tourism

Huludao is endowed with a number of scenic areas and sites of historical interest, and attracts many domestic tourists in summer by virtue of its picturesque sandy beaches, including Longwan Beach near the city center and Xingcheng Beach, a traditional resort known as the 'second Beidaihe'.

The old town in Xingcheng is a beautifully preserved Ming dynasty city, with its original walls still intact and an interior studded with temples and historical architecture. The presence of hot springs in the Xingcheng region along with its uncrowded beaches have contributed to its fame as a health destination across the country, while the stunning Juhua island is another significant tourist attraction.

The Great Wall passes through Huludao in spectacular fashion at Jiumenkou on the Hebei border, where the wall spans the Daqing river in the form of nine gates. It is the only section of the Great Wall to be built over water, and was listed as a world heritage site in 2002.

Other attractions in the area include the remains of Jieshi palace, built by the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty over two thousand years ago.