In Benin, China is developing the historic slave port of Ouidah into a tourist destination. Once a key hub of the transatlantic slave trade, the area now features memorials and aims to attract visitors.

In Benin’s southern Atlantic coastal town of Ouidah, located about 40km (25 miles) west of the economic capital of Cotonou, China is turning a former slave trade hub into a busy tourist destination. The historic port once saw nearly 2 million enslaved Africans marched along the 2km “Slave Route” from the auction plaza to the beach during the transatlantic slave trade. On the shore, captives were passed through the “Gate of No Return”, with a monumental memorial arch now standing at the exact...