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Revision as of 21:27, 6 July 2006
Template:Infobox PRC province Liaoning (simplified Chinese: 辽宁; traditional Chinese: 遼寧; pinyin: Liáoníng) is a northeastern province of the People's Republic of China. Its one-character abbreviation is Liao (辽 pinyin: liáo).
"Liáo" is an ancient name for this region, which was adopted by the Liao Dynasty (Khitan Empire) which ruled this area between 907 and 1125. "Níng" means "peacefulness." Historical names of Liaoning province include Fengtian (奉天 pinyin: Fèngtiān; Postal System Pinyin: Fengtien) and Shengjing (盛京 pinyin: Shèngjīng).
Liaoning is located in the southern part of China's Northeast. Liaoning borders the Yellow Sea (Korea Bay) and the Bohai Gulf in the south, North Korea in the southeast, Jilin Province to the northeast, Hebei Province to the west, and Inner Mongolia to the northwest.
The Yalu River marks the border between North Korea and the Chinese provinces of Jilin and Liaoning. It empties into the Korea Bay between Dandong (Liaoning) and Sinŭiju (North Korea).
History
Liaoning is located in the southern part of China's Northeast. The Qin and Han dynasties were able to establish rule over much of what is Liaoning; later on governments headed by various peoples such as the Xianbei, Goguryeo, Khitan and Jurchen ruled Liaoning. In the 17th century the Manchus had their capital in modern Shenyang, Liaoning, before they conquered the rest of China, setting up the Qing Dynasty in 1644. In the last half of the seventeenth century the imperial government recruited migrants from Shandong to settle the relatively sparsely populated area. Many of the current residents of Liaoning trace their ancestry to these seventeenth century settlers. For the rest of the Manchu era, China's Northeast was off-limits to Han Chinese, and was ruled by three generals, one of whom, the General of Shengjing, ruled much of modern Liaoning.
In 1860 the Manchu government began to reopen the region to migration, which quickly resulted in Han Chinese becoming the dominant ethnic group in the region. In the 20th century the province of Fengtian was set up in what is Liaoning today. When Japan and Russia fought the Russo-Japanese War in 1904-1905, many key battles took place in Liaoning. During the Warlord Era in the early 20th century Liaoning was under the Fengtian Clique, including Zhang Zuolin and his son Zhang Xueliang; in 1931 Japan invaded and the area came under the rule of the Japanese-controlled puppet state of Manchukuo. The Chinese Civil War that took place following Japanese defeat in 1945 had its first major battles (the Liaoshen Campaign) in and around Liaoning.
At the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Liaoning did not exist; instead there were two provinces, Liaodong and Liaoxi, as well as five municipalities, Shenyang, Luda, Anshan, Fushun, and Benxi. These were all merged together into "Liaoning" in 1954, and parts of former Rehe province were merged into Liaoning in 1955. During the Cultural Revolution Liaoning also took in a part of Inner Mongolia, though this was reversed later.
Liaoning was one of the first provinces in China to industrialize, first under Japanese occupation, and then even more in the 1950s and 1960s. The city of Anshan, for example, is home to one of the largest iron and steel complexes in China. In recent years this early focus on heavy industry has become a liability, as many of the large state-run enterprises have experienced economic difficulties. Recognizing the special difficulties faced by Liaoning and other provinces in Northeast China because of their heritage of heavy industry, the Chinese central government recently launched a Revitalize the Northeast Campaign.
Partial list of provincial governors:
- Chen Puru (1980-1983)
- Quan Shuren (1983-1986)
- Li Changchun (1986-1990)
- Yue Qifeng (1990-1994)
- Wen Shizhen (1994-1998)
- Zhang Guoguang (1998-2001)
- Bo Xilai (2001-2004)
- Zhang Wenyue (since 2004)
Geography
It is possible to think of Liaoning as three approximate geographical regions: the highlands in the west, plains in the middle, and hills in the east.
The highlands in the west are dominated by the Nulu'erhu Mountains, which roughly follow the border between Liaoning and Inner Mongolia. The entire region is dominated by low hills.
The central part of Liaoning consists of the watersheds of rivers such as the Liao, Daliao, and their tributaries. This region is mostly flat and at low altitudes.
The eastern part of Liaoning is dominated by the Changbai Shan and Qian Shan ranges, which extends into the sea to form the Liaodong Peninsula. The highest point in Liaoning, Mount Huabozi (1336 m), is found in this region.
Liaoning has a continental monsoon climate, and rainfall averages to about 440-1130 mm annually. Summer is rainy while the other seasons are dry.
Major cities:
Administrative divisions
Liaoning is composed of 14 prefecture-level cities:
- Shenyang (沈阳市 : Shěnyáng shì)
- Dalian (大连市 : Dàlián shì)
- Anshan (鞍山市 : Ānshān shì)
- Fushun (抚顺市 : Fǔshùn shì)
- Benxi (本溪市 : Běnxī shì)
- Dandong (丹东市 : Dāndōng shì)
- Jinzhou (锦州市 : Jǐnzhōu shì)
- Huludao (葫芦岛市 : Húludǎo shì)
- Yingkou (营口市 : Yíngkǒu shì)
- Panjin (盘锦市 : Pánjǐn shì)
- Fuxin (阜新市 : Fùxīn shì)
- Liaoyang (辽阳市 : Liáoyáng shì)
- Tieling (铁岭市 : Tiělǐng shì)
- Chaoyang (朝阳市 : Cháoyáng shì)
These prefecture-level cities are in turn divided into 100 county-level divisions (17 county-level cities, 19 counties, 8 autonomous counties, and 56 districts), which are then further subdivided into 1511 township-level divisions (613 towns, 301 townships, 77 ethnic townships, and 520 subdistricts).
See List of administrative divisions of Liaoning for a complete list of county-level divisions.
Economy
Agriculture
Main agricultural products of Liaoning include maize, sorghum, and soybeans. The region around Dalian produces 3/4 of China's exported apples and peaches. Cotton is also produced.
Mining
Liaoning has the most iron, magnesite, diamond, and boron deposits among all province-level subdivisions of China. Liaoning is also an important source of petroleum and natural gas. Salt is produced along the coast.
Industry
Liaoning is one of China's most important industrial bases, covering a wide range of industries, such as machinery, electronics, metal refining, petroleum, chemical industries, construction materials, coal, and so on.
Trade
In recent years, the city of Dalian has, in particular, been developed as a major port and the economic gateway to all of northeast China.
In 2004, Liaoning's nominal GDP was 687.3 billion yuan (US$85.27 billion), ranking 8th in the PRC. Per capita GDP was 14,300 yuan (US$1,727).
Demographics
The population of Liaoning is mostly Han Chinese with minorities of Manchus, Mongols, Hui, Koreans and Xibe.
| Ethnic groups in Liaoning, 2000 census | ||
|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Population | Percentage |
| Han Chinese | 35,105,991 | 83.94% |
| Manchu | 5,385,287 | 12.88% |
| Mongol | 669,972 | 1.60% |
| Hui | 264,407 | 0.632% |
| Koreans | 241,052 | 0.576% |
| Xibe | 132,615 | 0.317% |
Excludes members of the People's Liberation Army in active service.
Source: Department of Population, Social, Science and Technology Statistics of the National Bureau of Statistics of China (国家统计局人口和社会科技统计司) and Department of Economic Development of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission of China (国家民族事务委员会经济发展司), eds. Tabulation on Nationalities of 2000 Population Census of China (《2000年人口普查中国民族人口资料》). 2 vols. Beijing: Nationalities Publishing House (民族出版社), 2003. (ISBN 7105054255)
Culture
Liaoning's culture is part of a culture of Northeast China that is quite homogeneous across all of the northeastern China. See Manchuria#Culture for a detailed description.
In paleontology, Liaoning is well known for its extraordinary fossils from the Lower Cretaceous period; eg, the early 'placental' mammal known as Eomaia. The first widely acknowledged feathered dinosaur, Sinosauropteryx prima, was discovered in Liaoning and unveiled at a scientific meeting in 1996. Other notable discoveries have been an intact embryo of a pterosaur, Repenomamus robustus—a cat-sized mammal who ate dinosaurs, and Sinornithosaurus millennii, nicknamed "Dave the Fuzzy Raptor."
Tourism
The Mukden Palace was the palace of the Qing Dynasty emperors before they conquered the rest of China and moved their capital to Beijing. Though not as large nor as famous as its counterpart (the Forbidden City) in Beijing, the Mukden palace is significant for its representation of palace architecture at the time, and has recently been included on the UNESCO World Heritage Site as an extension of the Imperial Palace site in Beijing..
In addition, three imperial tombs dating from the Qing Dynasty are located in Liaoning. These tomb sites have been grouped with other Ming and Qing Dynasties tombs (such as the Ming Dynasty Tombs in Beijing, and the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum in Nanjing) as a combined UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Wunu Mountain City, a Goguryeo site found in Huanren Manchu Autonomous County, is part of a combined UNESCO World Heritage Site that also includes sites in Ji'an, Jilin.
The city of Anshan boasts the Anshan Jade Buddha, the largest Buddha statue made of jade in the world.
Liaoyang, one of the oldest continuously-inhabited cities in northeast China, has a number of historical sites, including the White Pagoda (Baita), that dates to the Yuan Dynasty.
The port city of Dalian, located on the tip of the Liaodong Peninsula, is a tourist destination in its own right, with beaches, resorts, zoos, seafood, shopping, Russian- and Japanese-era architecture, and streetcars, a rare site in China.
Dandong, on the border with North Korea, is a medium-sized city that offers a cross-river view of the North Korean city of Sinŭiju.
Education
Colleges and universities
Under the national Ministry of Education:
- Dalian University of Technology (大连理工大学)
- Northeastern University (东北大学)
Under various other national agencies:
- China Criminal Police College (中国刑警学院)
- Dalian Maritime University (大连海事大学)
- Dalian Nationalities University (大连民族大学)
Under the provincial government:
- Anshan University of Science and Technology (鞍山科技大学)
- Anshan Normal University
- China Medical University (中国医科大学)
- Dalian Jiaotong University (大连交通大学)
- Dalian Medical University (大连医科大学)
- Dalian University (大连大学)
- Dongbei University of Finance and Economics (东北财经大学)
- Liaoning Institute of Technology (辽宁工学院)
- Liaoning Normal University (辽宁师范大学)
- Liaoning Technical University (辽宁工程技术大学)
- Liaoning University (辽宁大学)
- Liaoning University of Petroleum and Chemical Technology (辽宁石油化工大学)
- Shenyang Agricultural University (沈阳农业大学)
- Shenyang Institute of Chemical Technology (沈阳化工学院)
- Shenyang Jianzhu University (沈阳建筑大学)
- Shenyang Ligong University (沈阳理工大学)
- Shenyang Pharmaceutical University (沈阳药科大学)
- Shenyang University (沈阳大学)
- Shenyang University of Technology (沈阳工业大学)
Miscellaneous topics
Sports
Professional sports teams based in Liaoning include:
- Chinese Football Association Super League
- Chinese Football Association Jia League
- Chinese Basketball Association
