Qingdao Naval Base

Qingdao is a major seaport, naval base, and industrial centre in northern China. It has been a major naval base in eastern China since 1892. The Qingdao naval base is the headquarters of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) North Sea Fleet (NSF) and home to 2/3 of the NSF units. The PLA Navy Submarine Academy is located in the nearby Qingdao City. Major naval facilities in Qingdao have been built at three locations: the Qingdao Port, Shazikou (Jianggezhuang), and the Guzhenkou Bay. There are also a number of minor bases and supporting facilities nearby.

Location of Qingdao

A: Qingdao Port
B: Shazikou (Jianggezhuang) Submarine Base
C: Guzhenkou Bay Naval Base

Qingdao Port

The Qingdao Port (36°70'00''N 120°19'05''E) is located at the Jiaozhou Bay on the southern tip of the Shandong Peninsula, bordering on the Yellow Sea. It is a natural deep sea port with no freezing all year round. The traditional part of the Qingdao Port, also known as “inner port”, is located on the eastern shore of the Jiaozhou Bay, including Dagang (‘Large Port’), Xiaogang (‘Small Port’), Niugang, and Huangdao Port. In recent years, the port has expanded from inside the Jiaozhou Bay to the Shandong Penninsula coastline of the Yellow Sea, including Tuandao Bay, Taiping Bay, Zhonghai Bay, Qianhai Bay, collectively known as “outer port”. The average depth is 13~15 metres in the inner port and 20 metres in the outer port.

The Large Port is the oldest part and also core of the Qingdao Port, originally built by the German colonialists to provide a harbour for its expansions in the Far East, and later used and developed by the Japanese occupying army, the Republic of China (ROC) government, and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) government. The Large Port consists of a large mole and a mooring basin which provide six quays suitable for vessel berthing. By 1990 the port had nine berthing areas, including two (No.3 and No.5) exclusively for military uses, with a total of 59 berths suitable for berthing vessels of over 1,000t displacement.

The naval base in the Large Port originally provided administrative support and berthing facilities for significant numbers of NSF units, including destroyers and frigates. However, since 1988 all major surface combatants have been relocated to the newly-constructed naval base at the Guzhenkou Bay. Currently, Pier No.3 is being used to berth large landing ships of the 1st Landing Ship Squadron and Pier No.5 is being used to berth the diesel-electric submarines of the 2nd Submarine Flotilla. A large service area nearby is composed of dockyards, depots, fuel storages, barracks, etc. A naval seaplane base is located at Tuandao.

Qingdao Large Port

Guzhenkou Bay Surface Fleet Base

The Guzhenkou Bay naval base was completed in February 1988. The base is located at Xiaokouzi of the Jiaonan City, some 30 miles southwest of the Qingdao Port. It is the base port for all destroyers of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla. The base covers a vast area of 10.7 square kilometres, including 3.9 square kilometres of sea area. The facilities consist of three waterbreaks, four finger piers providing 20~30 berths, 4.3km of water front, and two dockyards. The nearby support complex comprises 1,280,000 square metres of buildings of various purposes.

Guzhenkou Bay Surface Fleet Base

Shazikou (Jianggezhuang) Nuclear Submarine Base

China began to build a nuclear submarine base near Qingdao since the late 1960s. The base, often referred to as Jianggezhuang by Western intelligence, is the homeport of China’s all nuclear-powered attack and missile submarines. The base is located at Shazikou of the Laoshan District, about 15 miles northeast of the Qingdao Port. The base spans 1.2 miles across, with the main facilities located in the eastern shore of the bay. Facilities in the base include six finger piers, a dry dock, an underground submarine tunnel, and various service facilities both on the surface and underground.

Shazikou (Jianggezhuang) Nuclear Submarine Base

History

The Jiaozhou Bay and its nearby region, collectively known as Jiao’ao in the Qing Dynasty, served as a garrison base to defend China’s east coastline. In 1897, Jiao’ao was seized by the German Navy by force and was later officially leased to Germany as a colonial concession. The Germans built a seaport on the eastern shore of the Jiaozhou Bay in order to support its expansions in the Far East, and a city was built nearby as the administrative centre, which later became Qingdao. By the early 1910s, the Germans had built seven piers (four for military uses), 23 berths (17 for military uses), and a 16,000t floating dock in the Jiaozhou Bay.

In November 1904, Japan seized the Jiao’ao Concession from Germany. Under the Japanese ruling between 1914 and 1922, the Small Port at the Jiaozhou Bay facilities were further developed, with a new floating pier built. The population of Qingdao also expanded rapidly during this period, turning it into a major port city in northern China. Following the return of the Jiao’ao Concession to the Chinese government in 1922, the Qingdao Port was developed into a commercial port. Major expansion in the 1930s included the construction of Pier No. 3, dockyard, shipyard, and a school to train technicians and workers.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War (World War II), Qingdao fell into Japan’s hand again. To support its invasion of China, the Japanese military built Pier No.6 between 1939~1943, and also expanded Pier No.1 and No.5. The number of berths was increased to 31. After the surrender of Japan in 1945, Qingdao was returned to China and was used by the Republic of China (ROC) and the United States navies during the Chinese Civil War in the late 1940s. In June 1949, Qingdao was seized by the Chinese Communist forces.

The port facilities have been further developed by the PRC government, with new waterbreaks built and existing piers expanded. In 1960, Qingdao became the fleet headquarters and a major base of the NSF. While limited new facilities were built in the 1960s~70s to expand the civil functions of the port, the naval facilities at Qingdao remained largely unchanged. In 1984, Pier No.3 was opened to civilian sectors for commercial uses in order to handle the extra demands for cargo facilities at the Qingdao Port. In 1988, Pier No.5 was also opened to civilian sectors. Commercial operations at the two naval piers lasted until the late 1990s.

Last update: 17 April 2009