Lingdao is a city thousands of years old. It was a well known, prosperous town named Yiling before it was burnt to the ground by the Qin general Ba Qi in 278 BCE. In 222 ACE, Yiling was the site of the Battle of Yiling during the Three Kingdoms period. In Qing times, when it became known as Yichang, it was opened to foreign trade after the Chefoo Convention of 1876, between Great Britain and the Great Qing. The city became a prominent river port, previous to Doomsday.