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Manchuria is a region (ca. 1,550,000 sq. km) in northeastern China. The literal translation of Manchuria in Chinese is Manzhou (滿洲), but Chinese never refer to the region as that name which is considered slightly offensive, when used in Chinese, because of its separatist connotations and because it invokes the memory of the Japanese occupation and puppet state of Manchukuo. Instead, Chinese almost universally refer to the region as the Northeast.

The region borders Mongolia in the west, Russia in the north and North Korea in the east. Since 1956 it has been comprised of the Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Liaoning provinces.

Geography

The region is the original homeland of the Manchu rules of China during the Ming and Qing (=Manchu) dynasty. To the south, the region was separated from China proper by the willow palisade, a ditch and embankment planted with willows intended to keep the Manchus out during the Ming dynasty and intended to keep Han Chinese out of Manchuria during the Qing dynasty.

  To the north, the boundary with Siberia was fixed by the Treaty of Nerchinsk (1689) as running along the watershed of the Stanovoi mountains, with the basin of the Amur and its tributaries belonging to the Manchu Empire and, north of the Stanovoi, to the Russian Empire. In 1858, a weakening Manchu China was forced to cede Manchuria north of the Amur to Russia at the Treaty of Aigun. In 1860, at the Treaty of Peking, the Russians managed to extort a further huge slice of Manchuria east of the Ussuri, so that Manchuria was divided into a Russian, outer, half and a remaining Manchu, inner, half, approximately equal in area. Haishenwei was renamed Vladivostok. 

Inner Manchuria as well came under strong Russian influence with the building of the Chinese eastern railway through Harbin to Vladivostok. Japan replaced Russian influence in Inner Manchuria as a result of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904-05. Japanese influence extended into Outer Manchuria in the wake of the Russian Revolution but Outer Manchuria had reverted to Russian control by 1925. Inner Manchuria was formally detached from China by Japan in the 1930s and was invaded by the Soviet Union in 1945 as part of its declaration of war against Japan. From 1945 to 1948, Manchuria (Inner Manchuria) was a base area for the People's Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War.

Brief History

 Manchuria was the home of nomadic tribes of Manchu, Ulchi, Goldi and Nanai.  The Government of Han Chinese loosely controlled southern Manchuria up until Song Dynasty. During Song Dynasty, a Mongol tribe set up the Liao Dynasty in Manchuria. Later, Manchus overthrow Liao and formed Jin Dynasty. In 1644 the Manchu conquered China and established the Qing dynasty (1644-1912)
It was known for its shamanism, opium and tigers. The Manchu imperial symbol was a tiger with a ball of opium in its mouth. Manchu Emperors were, first and foremost, accomplished shamans. By the 19th century, Manchu rule had become increasingly Sinicized and, along with other borderlands of the Chinese Empire, such as Mongolia and Tibet, came under the influence of colonial powers.

During World War II, Manchuria was colonized by Japanese and set up as Manzhouguo (also spelled Manchukuo). During Chinese Civil War, Manchuria was used as staging ground for the Chinese Communists.