A Century-Old Harbor Transforms into a Public Living Room

各位观众，我现在所在的位置，是位于威海环翠区昆明路1号的威·至海港湾。

就在我身后，这座以“巨鲸出海”为造型的建筑，其前身是始建于1918年的威海老港码头。百年前，这里樯橹云集、舟楫往来，见证了城市的起航。百年沧海桑田，如今它已焕新为一座12万平方米的城市文体商旅中心，更成为威海“还海于民”最生动、最有力的注脚。

什么叫“还海于民”？数据最有说服力——这里超过40%的空间，全部让渡给了公众。2.3万平方米的免费运动天地、滨海步道、看海大操场，全部向市民敞开。站在270度全视野的海景城市书吧，捧一本书、面朝大海，便是威海人最日常的浪漫。而被网友称为“全国最美海上足球场”的大操场，就矗立在海边——年轻人在绿茵场上奔跑，抬眼便是碧波万顷的威海湾，踢球时满眼蔚蓝。连外交部发言人毛宁都在海外社交平台上点赞推介，将其作为“人民占据公共空间最重要位置”的中国城市更新典范向全球展示。

这份底气，更来自威海厚植多年的生态家底。近岸海域水质优良比例连续7年保持100%，省级以上美丽海湾实现全域覆盖——天蓝、水清、岸绿、滩净，才有了今天“还海于民”的从容与自信。

从老港记忆到城市客厅，从“靠海吃海”到“还海于民”，威海用自己的实践证明：最有价值的资源，就应该留给最需要它的人民。

Dear viewers, I am now standing at No. 1 Kunming Road, Huancui District, Weihai — the Wei-Zhihai Harbor.

Behind me stands a building shaped like a "giant whale breaking out of the ocean." Its predecessor was the old Weihai Port Pier, first built in 1918. A hundred years ago, this place was crowded with masts and sails, witnessing the city’s journey to the world. After a century of transformation, it has now been reborn as a 120,000-square-meter urban cultural, sports, commercial and tourism center, and has become the most vivid and powerful illustration of Weihai's principle: "returning the sea to the people."

What does "returning the sea to the people" mean? The numbers speak for themselves — over 40% of the space here has been given back to the public. A 23,000-square-meter free sports zone, coastal walkways, and a seaside sports plaza are all open to citizens. Standing in the 270-degree panoramic sea-view city book bar, holding a book and facing the ocean — that is the everyday romance of Weihai’s residents. And what netizens have called "the most beautiful seaside soccer field in China" stands right by the coast — young people running on the green pitch, looking up to the vast blue water of Weihai Bay, playing soccer with nothing but blue in their eyes. Even Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning praised and promoted this place on overseas social media, presenting it to the world as a Chinese model of urban renewal where "the people always occupy the most important place in every public space."

This confidence also comes from Weihai’s solid ecological foundation. The proportion of nearshore waters with good water quality has remained 100% for seven consecutive years, and provincial-level or higher "Beautiful Bays" have achieved full coverage — with blue skies, clear water, green shores, and clean beaches, Weihai has earned the calm confidence to "return the sea to the people."

From an old port memory to a city living room, from "living off the sea" to "returning the sea to the people," Weihai proves through its actions that the most valuable resources should be left for the people who need them most.