Meaning of the name
"Distant Peace"

Geographical location
Liaoning Province, situated in the south of Northeast China, lies at 1810 53' to 1250 46' east longitude, and 380 43' to 430 26' north latitude. Liaoning is in a temperate zone and adjoins Jilin and Hebei provinces and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and is bordered along the Yalu River by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Capital: Shenyang

Major Cities: Shenyang, Dalian, Anshan, Fushun, Benxi, Dandong, Jinzhou, Yingkou

Neighboring Areas: Jilin and Hebei provinces; Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

Neighboring Country: North Korea

Attractions in Liaoning

Population:
42.03 million

Population growth rate: 1.34¡ë

Life expectancy:

The average life expectancy in the province has risen to 72.09 years. The life expectancy of males is 70.55 while females are 73.85 years old.

Ethnicity:
Liaoning Province has 44 ethnic groups including Han, Manchu, Mongol, Hui, Korean and Xibe. Minority population is 6.55 million, accounting for 16 percent of the province¡¯s total. There are 5 minorities with population exceeding 10,000: Manchu, Mongol, Hui, Korean and Xibe. In addition, the population of the Zhuang, Miao, Tujia, Dawo¡¯er and Yi ethnic groups is also comparatively large.

History
Although from early times the area of Liaoning was considered to be a part of China, it frequently came under the control of non-Chinese and non-agricultural peoples. The Mongolian Khitan tribe invaded in the 10th century and made the region part of their Liao Empire (907-1125), incorporating Mongolia, Manchuria and part of north-central China. The Liao were defeated by the Ruzhen (or Juchen) tribe, which originated within Manchuria. The Ruzhen went on to defeat the Chinese Song Empire and establish their own dynasty in northern China called the Jin (1115-1234). Their submission to Genghis Khan and the Yuan dynasty (1206-1368) once again brought the area of Liaoning under Mongolian control. Even after the ascension of the Chinese Ming dynasty (1368-1644) the area retained ties to Mongolia.

Native Manchus dominated Manchuria politically once more under the chieftain Nurhaci (1559-1626), whose descendants would conquer all of China and found the Qing dynasty in 1644. The Manchurian rulers of Liaoning attempted to preserve the ethnic purity of their homeland by officially discouraging Chinese immigration to the region, but they were unable to stop increasing numbers of Chinese settlers arriving from northern China.

By the late 1800s the area was coming under pressure from Russia and Japan, and from that time until the present Liaoning has been largely affected by these countries. The Liaodong Peninsula was ceded to the Japanese after they defeated China in the war of 1894-95, but through Russian help the area was soon returned to China. The Russians dominated for the next 10 years and built the South Manchurian Railway, linking the new port of Lüshun (Port Arthur) with Changchun in Jilin Province. This railway became the pillar of the area's economic expansion, but passed into Japanese hands in 1907 following the Japanese victory in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-05. Japan's large-scale investment in the region laid the foundation of Liaoning's industrial development, but they increasingly grasped military and political control in a three-way power struggle against the Guomindang under Chiang Kai-shek and the local warlord Zhang Zuolin. Japan's victory was signalled when they effectively removed the area from China and made it part of the Manchukuo puppet state in 1932. From that time until the defeat of Japan in the Second World War in 1945, Liaoning was the recipient of brutal political and military repression, and a continuing vigorous expansion of its industrial base.

The Soviet Union used Japan's defeat in 1945 and China's relative weakness to once again claim their old treaty rights to the South Manchurian Railway and the port of Lüshun, and only withdrew in 1955. The bulk of Liaoning passed into Guomindang control after 1945, with Soviet and American help, but was conquered by the Chinese Communists in 1948, in a climactic battle that was a major step leading to their conquest of all China in the following year. Originally split into two provinces under the Communists, Liaoxi and Liaodong (Liao Westand Liao East), it was consolidated in 1954 and reached its present outline when part of the former province of Jehol (Chengde) was added in 1956.

The Communists built on the development of heavy industry begun by the Japanese, making it number one in China in the production of steel, cement, and crude oil. Only since the mid-1980s has more of the planning and investment been shifted to agriculture and light industry, but Liaoning remains one of the strongest economies in all of China. Despite being a hotbed of pro-Maoist support during the Cultural Revolution of 1966-76, the province opened up relatively quickly in the free-market reforms that followed Mao's death, and Japanese investment is once again an important part of the economy.

Culture
The Chinese culture of Liaoning is most closely related to Shandong, from which province the largest and most successful groups of settlers came in the 1800s and early 1900s. With its ethnic mixing and long periods of time under non-Chinese rule however, the people of Liaoning have always had a spirit of being outsiders in China.

Liaoning's most famous traditional handicrafts are jade and shell carvings from Dalian, amber and jet carvings from Fushun, and feather paintings from Shenyang.

Famous people born in Liaoning include the following:

• Wenxiang (Wen-hsiang), 1818-1876, official and statesman in the last years of the Qing dynasty, who took a lead in promoting Western studies, reforming the Chinese government, and introducing Western technology into China
• Zhang Zuolin (Chang Tso-lin or "Old Marshal"), 1873-1928, Chinese soldier and later a warlord in Manchuria and parts of north China
• Zhang Xueliang (Chang Hsueh-liang or "Young Marshal"), Chinese warlord who in the Xi'an Incident of 1936 compelled the Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek to form a wartime alliance with the Chinese Communists against Japan

Education:
Liaoning Province has 66 colleges or higher education institutions, 451,000 enrolled students and 10,187 enrolled postgraduate students. Over 40 colleges have established friendly ties with foreign counterparts, mutually sending scholars for academic exchanges. More than 20 colleges have international students from over 30 countries and regions.

In Liaoning, there are 152,000 students enrolled in secondary technical schools. The province also has 453 senior high schools and 519,000 enrolled students.

Unemployment rate:
By the end of 2002, the registered unemployed number of population in the province¡¯s urban districts and towns was 740,000.

Topography
The coastline of Liaoning Province is 2,178 kilometers long - nearly 12 percent of China¡¯s total. The hilly regions in east Liaoning are the main area for forest. Adjoining the long, narrow costal plains (usually called the Liaoxi Corridor) is the main road for Northeast China, linking with North China. Liaohe Plain in Central Liaoning, as a part of the Northeastern China Plain, has sedimentary deposits from the Liaohe River and other tributaries. The plain has abundant water and fertile soil, and is the main farming area and commodity grain base in Liaoning Province.

Mountains: Mt. Qianshan in the east, which are an extension of the Changbai Range; Nulu'erhu Mountains in the west

Rivers: Liaohe River, the principal waterway of the province; Yalu River, which forms the boundary between China and North Korea

Climate
Liaoning Province has a continental monsoon climate with distinct seasonal variations. It has an annual rainfall of 714.9 mm, annual average temperature of 4¡ãC - 10¡ãC with a frost-free period of 140-200 days.

Average Temperature: -17C to -5C in January, 21C to 25C in July

Annual Aaverage Rainfall: 400 - 1,200 mm; high precipitation in the eastern mountain area; 60 percent of the rain falls from June to August

Water resources
There are 392 rivers of a total length of 160,000 kilometers with a drainage area of 145,000 sq. km in Liaoning Province. Liaohe River, one of the seven longest rivers in China, is 512 kilometers long and has a drainage area of 69,000 sq.km in the province. The average runoff of rivers in Liaoning has reached 32.5 billion cubic meters, or a 223 mm runoff depth. The province has a total water resource of 36.3 billion cubic meters.

Liaoning has plentiful fishing resources with its marine life area ranking second in China.

Minerals
Nearly 115 minerals have been found in Liaoning, and reserves of 64 minerals have been located. Its reserves of minerals such as iron, boron, magnesite, diamonds and talcum are some of the largest deposits in China.

Liaohe Oil Field is the third largest oil and natural gas field in China. Its reserves of oil and natural gas account for 15 percent and 10 percent of the country¡¯s total.

Biological resources
Liaoning Province has a total forestry area of 4.185 million hectares, with 28.7 percent forest cover. It also has a lot of fruit trees. It has the third largest total area of fruit in the defoliated zone and the second largest production in the area.

Tourist resources
Liaoning has over 11,300 cultural remains, including 19 national-level key protection units and 159 provincial-level key protection units. There are 7 state-class natural reserves and 7 provincial-class natural reserves.

Recently, the province put forward many cultural tourism items e.g. steam engine tours, recovery tours, ancient tours and business tours. Some of the folk festivals now attract the attention of both domestic and foreign visitors such as the Dalian Costume Festival.

Environmental protection
In 2001, the province planted 0.78 billion trees, had artificial afforestation of 3.05 mu (203,333 hectares), closed hillsides to facilitate further afforestation of 3,620,000 mu (241,333 hectares), and planted high-yield woods of 760,000 mu (50,666 hectares). In addition, a total area of 770,000 mu (51,333 hectares) was used for a ¡°land grass¡± project. In addition, the province has put over 100 million yuan (US$12 million) into the Natural Forest Protection Project in east Liaoning, reducing logging by 1.93 million cubic meters.

In 2001, 15 million hectares of grassland was taken up by urban expansion. Six sewage disposal plants in Shenyang, Dalian, Anshan, Fushun and Tieling cities had been primarily set up, adding a 0.75 million sewage ton disposal capacity. Besides, all the washing material didn¡¯t contain phosphorous.

Dalian was the only city in China to be nominated in the United Nation¡¯s (UN) Global 500 Roll of Honor in 2001; Huludao City was selected as a National Garden City; the air quality of Dalian, Dandong, Jinzhou and Panjin cities all reached the second-grade standard.

Transportation
Railway:
The province had over 3,548 kilometers of railway open to traffic at the end of 2002.

Highway
Liaoning has a total highway network of 48,051 kilometers, including 1,637 kilometers of expressway.

Aviation
The province has 6 airports linking over 100 cities with both domestic and foreign countries, and regions, such as Japan, Russia, Republic of Korea (ROK) and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).

Telecommunications
Telephone users:
An international and domestic computerized telephone system has been available for all 14 cities directly under the provincial government and its 44 counties. The installed capacity of telephony has reached 12.659 million. An arterial transmission network, which is centered in Shenyang and transmits mainly through digital microwaves, has been established. At the end of 2002, the number of fixed telephone subscribers in the province reached 10.16 million, number of mobile phone subscribers 8.576 million, and Internet users 3.36 million.

Radio and TV
The province has 15 radio stations, 35 medium-wave radio launch pads and relay stations, covering 97.8 percent of the population in Liaoning. It also has 15 TV stations and 483 launch pad and relay stations covering 97.6 percent of the population in Liaoning.