Bohai Sea also known as Bohai Gulf, Bohai, or Bo Hai, is the innermost gulf

Headlands and bays

Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment.- Geology and geography :Headlands and bays are often found on the same coastline. A bay is surrounded by land on three sides, whereas a headland is surrounded by water on three sides. Headlands are characterized by high,...

 of the Yellow Sea

Yellow Sea

The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...

 on the coast of Northeastern

Northeast China

Northeast China, historically known in English as Manchuria, is a geographical region of China, consisting of the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The region is sometimes called the Three Northeast Provinces...

 and North China

North China

thumb|250px|Northern [[People's Republic of China]] region.Northern China or North China is a geographical region of China. The heartland of North China is the North China Plain....

. It is approximately 78,000 km² (30,116 sq. mi) in area and its proximity to Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

, the capital of the Peoples Republic of China, makes it one of the busiest seaways in the world.

History

Until the early 20th century, Bo Hai was often called the Gulf of Chihli (直隸海灣 Zhílì Hǎiwān) or the Gulf of Pechihli or Pechili (北直隸海灣 Běizhílì Hǎiwān). Zhili

Zhili

Zhílì was a northern province in China from the Ming Dynasty until the province was dissolved in 1928 during the Republic of China era.-History:...

 and Beizhili were historic provinces in the area surrounding Beijing.

Geography

The Bohai Sea is bounded by the Liaodong and Shandong Peninsulas. It has become one of busiest sea routes in recent times. There are three major bays inside the Bohai Sea: Laizhou Bay

Laizhou Bay

Laizhou Bay is the southern arm of the Bohai Sea , which is a large relatively shallow extension of Korea Bay behind the Liaodong Peninsula to the north, and the Shandong Peninsula to the south...

 to the south, Liaodong Bay

Liaodong Bay

Liaodong Bay is one of the three bays forming the Bohai Gulf, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea, in northeast China. It borders Liaoning province.The three bays are Laizhou Bay to the south, Liaodong Bay to the north, and Bohai Bay to the west....

 to the north, and Bohai Bay

Bohai Bay

Bohai Bay is one of the three bays forming the Bohai Gulf, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea, in northeast China. It borders Hebei province and Tianjin Municipality...

 to the west. At the easternmost end of the Bohai Sea, between the southernmost end of the Liaodong Peninsula and northernmost end of the Shandong Peninsula, is the Bohai Strait (渤海海峡). A few of the rivers entering the gulf include the Yellow

Yellow River

The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...

, Hai

Hai River

The Hai River , previously called Bai He , is a river in the People's Republic of China which flows through Beijing and Tianjin before emptying into the Yellow Sea at the Bohai Gulf.The Hai River at Tianjin is formed by the confluence of five rivers, the Southern Canal, Ziya...

, Liao

Liao River

The Liao River is the principal river in northeast China . The province of Liaoning and the Liaodong Peninsula derive their names from the river....

, and Luan River

Luan River

The Luan River is a river in China. It flows northwards from its source in the province of Hebei into the province of Inner Mongolia, and then flows southeast back into Hebei to its mouth on the Bohai Sea. Its length is about 600 km. One subsidiary of the Luan River is the Yixun He, which...

s. There are a few important oil reserves in the vicinity of the gulf, including the Shengli Field

Shengli Field

The Shengli Oil Field is the second-largest oil field in the People's Republic of China, with daily production of approximately .It is located in the Yellow River delta, in the north of Shandong province bordering Bohai Sea...

. Important island groups or islands in the gulf include the Changshan Islands (长山列岛), Changxing Island

Changxing Island (Dalian)

Changxing Island is located in the western part of Bohai Sea, off the coast of Wafangdian, Dalian, China. It is the fifth largest island in China and the largest island north of the Chang River. Its area is 252.5 square kilometers and population 600,000....

, and Xizhong Island (西中岛). The PRC provincial-level divisions that have a Bohai Sea coastline are, from the south, going clockwise: Shandong

Shandong

' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...

 Province, Hebei

Hebei

' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...

 Province, Tianjin

Tianjin

' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...

 Municipality, and Liaoning

Liaoning

' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...

 Province

Major Cities along the Bohai Sea coast

• Tianjin
• Dalian
  Dalian
  Dalian is a major city and seaport in the south of Liaoning province, Northeast China. It faces Shandong to the south, the Yellow Sea to the east and the Bohai Sea to the west and south. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, Dalian is the southernmost city of Northeast China and China's...
  
  , Liaoning
• Qinhuangdao
  Qinhuangdao
  Qinhuangdao is a port city in northeastern Hebei province of North China. It is about 300 km east of Beijing, on the Bohai Sea, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea....
  
  , Hebei
• Yantai
  Yantai
  Yantai is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. Located on the southern coast of the Bohai Sea and the eastern coast of the Laizhou Bay, Yantai borders the cities of Qingdao and Weihai to the southwest and east respectively.The largest fishing...
  
  , Shandong
• Penglai
  Penglai
  Penglai, Peng Lai, or Peng-lai may refer to:*Penglai City, Shandong, China*Mount Penglai, a place in Chinese mythology*Penglai Pagoda in Penglai City...
  
  , Shandong
• Weihai
  Weihai
  Weihai is a city in eastern Shandong Province, People's Republic of China. It is the easternmost prefecture-level city of the province and a major seaport. Between 1898 and 1930, the town was a British colony known as Weihaiwei or the Weihai Garrison , and sometimes as Port Edward...
  
  , Shandong

Tunnel crossing

In February 2011, the PRC announced that it would build a road and rail tunnel across the Bohai Strait to connect the Liaodong and Shandong peninsulas. When completed, the tunnel would be 106 kilometers long.

Hydrocarbons

The Bohai Bay contains significant oil and gas reserves, providing much of China's offshore production. The main field in the region is named Shengli and has been exploited since the 1960s. It is still producing about half a million barrels a day, but is declining

Peak oil

Peak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline. This concept is based on the observed production rates of individual oil wells, projected reserves and the combined production rate of a field...

.

Production is dominated by Chinese majors (China National Offshore Oil Corporation

China National Offshore Oil Corporation

China National Offshore Oil Corporation is one of the three major national oil companies of China....

 was mostly created for this region) but foreign companies are also present, like ConocoPhilips, Roc Oil and others.

Oil spills have been reported frequently in this region. Three occurred in a two month timeframe in 2011

External links

• Unep Reports – Regional Definition: Bohai Sea