Located in the middle part of the Shandong Peninsula, Yantai City neighbors Weihai to the east, Weifang to the west and Qingdao to the southwest. Being close to the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea to the north, Yantai faces Dalian on the Liaodong Peninsula across the sea.

The city occupies a total area of 13,745.95 square kilometers, of which 2,643.60 square kilometers are urban areas; has a total length of coastlines of 702.5 kilometers and a total population of more than 6.47 million. There are a total of 63 islands of different sizes in Yantai and they are scattered in the blue sea like glittering pearls. With beautiful natural scenic spots and rich resources of cultural relics and historic sites, Yantai is an ideal place for travel and summer vacation.

With a long history, Yantai, known as Zhifu in ancient times, is one of the cradles of early Chinese culture in ancient times. As early as about 10,000 to 20,000 years ago, human beings lived and multiplied in the area. Since Xia and Shang dynasties, all ancient dynasties later on in Chinese history attached great importance to the ruling of the place. In 1398 of the Ming Dynasty, the government built smoke terraces at Zhifu to defend the place from intrusions by pirates from the sea and the smoke terraces were also called Lang Yan Tai, hence the name of Yantai. In 1858, the Sino-French Treaty of Tianjin stipulated Dengzhou as a trading port and three years later, the place changed to Yantai. Therefore, Yantai has a history of more than 130 years as a trading port.

Situated in hilly areas, Yantai enjoys sufficient rainfalls, humid atmosphere, and warm temperature. In the hilly areas, trees are green all year round, creating beautiful views. In spring, mountains and hills become dark green and the air is full of fragrance of flowers; in summer, trees are green and luxuriant; in autumn, red leaves of trees are dotted everywhere and fruits send sweat fragrance to the air; and in winter, mountains and hills are covered with white snow, and the city becomes an exquisitely-carved ice and snow world.

Yantai is famous for its produce of apples, big cherry, pears and grapes.