The official AtoNs handover ceremony for Beihai port was held in Beihai port authority on Sept. 27th, 2008. Delegates from both port and regional authorities attended ceremony during which they endorsed on the handover agreement that allow Guangdong MSA to take over the local AtoNs.

As the only region in China that have both land and sea connection to ASEAN, Beihai served as a strategic hub for the Sino-ASEAN cooperation. Following the development of its port industry and assorted infrastructure, a Beibu Gulf based industry district began to emerge.

Contrary to the rapid economic growth of Beihai and its surrounding area, the development of the Beihai port had long been tied to the "straitjacket" of a backward AtoN system due to lack of maintenance funds.

The handover transaction acted as a part of the unified administration for the regional AtoN facilities on a national scale. It is believed that a series of reform measures will be introduced by Guangdong MSA as soon as the bureau assumed the duty of AtoNs management in the area. New technology such as flash synchronization will be applied in order to improve navigational efficiency of the AtoNs in Beihai port.