Port of Yingkou

The Port of Yingkou is an international seaport in Yingkou Liaoning, People's Republic of China. It is the second-largest port in northeast China and the tenth-largest nationwide.

Background
It includes two separate dockland areas, the Yingkou old port at the mouth of the Liao River, and the Bayuquan port located directly on Liaodong Bay on the Bohai Sea.

The port is a major import facility for northeastern China and parts of Mongolia with an annual trade volume of more than 21 million metric tons (MT) through 27 shipping berths. Principal port activities include grain, coal, steel and minerals, and vehicle imports. The port also handles up to 250,000 containerization per year.

History
River and coastal trade have existed in Yingkou since 1280 AD, but international shipping commenced in 1858 with Yingkou's designation as a Treaty Port under the Treaty of Tianjin. The first shipping dock was opened at the mouth of the Liao River in 1864. Over the next ten years additional docks were constructed at the mouths of the Hun River and the Tai, collectively forming what is now known as Yingkou old port.

The expiry of the treaty led to a decline in shipping and a reversion to a principally domestic port. The port was revived following the Chinese economic reforms of the late 1970s which led to the construction of the Bayuquan Port on Liandong Bay. These new facilities added an additional 20 shipping berths with a break bulk capacity of ten million MT a year.

In 1996 the Chinese government-owned shipping company COSCO partnered with Yingkou port authorities to develop a container terminal at Bayuquan Port with an annual capacity of 250,000 TEU's. 40,000 containers were handled in the first year of operation, rising to 150,000 by 2000 and reaching the terminal capacity in 2007.

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