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Former Site of Beihai Customs Building

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Beihai Customs, known as Pei Hai Customs before liberation, was the earliest-established customs among Guangxi’s “Four Major Customs.” Because control over the customs was in the hands of foreigners, it was also called the Foreign Customs. The Foreign Customs building was constructed in 1883. Over the 50 years from 1877 to 1936, tariff revenue amounted to more than 9 million taels of Customs Tael. These tariffs were all...

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Beihai Customs, known as Pei Hai Customs before liberation, was the earliest-established customs among Guangxi’s “Four Major Customs.” Because control over the customs was in the hands of foreigners, it was also called the Foreign Customs.

The Foreign Customs building was built in 1883. Over the 50 years from 1877 to 1936, tariff revenue reached more than 9 million taels of Customs Tael. All of these tariffs were turned over as reparations under unequal treaties. At that time, the Pei Hai Customs was nominally established by the Qing government but was actually a tool controlled by imperialist powers such as Britain.

The existing former site is located within the city customs compound. It is a square Western-style building with sides of 18 meters and three stories high, covering a construction area of 1,000 square meters. The main structure is relatively well preserved. This former site is a typical testament to China’s semi-colonial status and the loss of tariff sovereignty in old China.