Jilin

The name "Jilin" originates from girin ula () ᡤᡳᡵᡳᠨ ᡠᠯᠠ, a Manchu phrase meaning "along the river", shortened to Kirin in English. This Manchu term was transcribed into jilin wula (t 吉林烏拉, s 吉林乌拉) in Chinese characters and shortened the first two characters, which are transcribed in English as Chi-lin (Wade-Giles) and later "Jilin" (Hanyu Pinyin).[5]

In ancient times, Jilin was inhabited by the Xianbei, Sushen, the Mohe, Jurchens, and the Wùjí (勿吉).[6] The Korean kingdoms of Buyeo, Goguryeo and Balhae ruled parts of this area.

The region then fell successively under the domination of the Xiongnu, Xianbei state, Khitan Liao Dynasty, the Jurchen Jin Dynasty, and the Mongol Yuan dynasty.[7] During the Qing Dynasty, much of the area was under the control of the General of Jilin (Girin i Jiyanggiyūn), whose area of control extended to the Sea of Japan to encompass much of what is Russia's Primorsky Krai today.

After the Primorsky Krai area was ceded to Russia in 1860, the Qing government began to open the area up to Han Chinese migrants, most of whom came from Shandong. By the beginning of the 20th century, Han Chinese had become the dominant ethnic group of the region. In 1932, the area was incorporated into Manchukuo, a puppet state set up by Japan. Changchun (then called Hsinking), capital of Jilin today, was made the capital of Manchukuo. After the defeat of Japan in 1945, the Red Army captured Jilin after Operation August Storm.[8] The region, with the rest of northeastern China, was ceded to the Communists by the Soviet Union. Manchuria was the staging ground from which the communists eventually conquered the rest of China in the Chinese Civil War.

In 1949, Jilin province was smaller, encompassing only the environs of Changchun and Jilin City, and the capital was at Jilin City, while Changchun was a municipality independent from the province. In the 1950s, Jilin was expanded to its present borders. During the Cultural Revolution, Jilin was expanded again to include a part of Inner Mongolia, giving it a border with the independent state of Mongolia, though this was later reversed.

In recent times Jilin has, with the rest of heavy industry-based Northeast China, been facing economic difficulties with privatization. This prompted the central government to undertake a campaign called "Revitalize the Northeast".

Jilin lies in the central part of northeastern China, bordering Russia and North Korea in the east and southeast respectively. Jilin has an area of 190,000 km² (73,000 sq mi) and a population of 27.3 million. Its capital is Changchun, which lies 113 km (70 mi) west of Jilin City. Jilin is rich in natural mineral deposits with 136 types of minerals, of which 70 have been extracted. Jilin has an abundance of Traditional Chinese medicine resources, with approximately 27,000 kinds of wild plants and 9,000 kinds of medicinal herbs.[9]

The province is rich in large reserves of oil, gas, coal, iron, nickel, molybdenum, talc, graphite, gypsum, cement rock, gold and silver; its reserves of oil shale are the largest in the country.[10]

Jilin is highest in altitude in the southeast and drops gently towards the northwest. The Changbai Mountains run through its southeastern regions and contains the highest peak of the province, Paektu Mountain at 2,744 m (9,003 ft). Other ranges include the Jilinhada Mountains, Zhang Guangcai Mountains, and Longgang Mountains.

Jilin is drained by the Yalu and Tumen rivers in the extreme southeast (which together form parts of the border between the People's Republic of China and North Korea), by tributaries of the Liao River in the southwest, and by the Songhua and Nen rivers in the north, both eventually flowing into the Amur.

Jilin has a northerly continental monsoon climate, with long, cold winters and short, warm summers. Average January temperatures range from −20 to −14 °C (−4 to 7 °F). Rainfall averages at 350 to 1,000 mm (13.8 to 39.4 in).

Major cities in this province include Changchun, Jilin City, Baishan, Baicheng, Siping, Yanji, Songyuan, Tonghua and Liaoyuan.[11]

Jilin consists of nine prefecture-level divisions: eight prefecture-level cities (including a sub-provincial city) and one autonomous prefecture:

Administrative divisions of Jilin
Changchun Jilin Siping Liaoyuan Tonghua Baishan Songyuan Baicheng Yanbian Korean AP
Division code[12]	Division	Area in km2[13]	Population 2010[14]	Seat	Divisions[15]
					Districts	Counties	Aut. counties	CL cities
220000	Jilin Province	187,400.00	27,462,297	Changchun city	21	16	3	20
220100	Changchun city	24,734.13	7,677,089	Nanguan District	7	1		3
220200	Jilin city	27,659.79	4,414,681	Chuanying District	4	1		4
220300	Siping city	10,241.73	3,386,325	Tiexi District	2	1	1	1
220400	Liaoyuan city	5,140.45	1,176,645	Longshan District	2	2
220500	Tonghua city	15,607.80	2,325,242	Dongchang District	2	3		2
220600	Baishan city	174,73.73	1,295,750	Hunjiang District	2	2	1	1
220700	Songyuan city	21,089.38	2,881,082	Ningjiang District	1	2	1	1
220800	Baicheng city	25,692.29	2,033,058	Taobei District	1	2		2
222400	Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture	43,509.10	2,271,600	Yanji city		2		6
Sub-provincial cities

These nine prefecture-level divisions are in turn subdivided into 60 county-level divisions (21 districts, 20 county-level cities, 16 counties, and three autonomous counties). (See List of administrative divisions of Jilin.) These administrative divisions are explained in greater detail at Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China. At the end of the year 2017, the total population is 27.17 million.

Statue of Mao Zedong in Jilin

The politics of Jilin is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China.

The Governor of Jilin is the highest-ranking official in the People's Government of Jilin. However, in the province's dual party-government governing system, the Governor has less power than the Jilin Communist Party of China Provincial Committee Secretary, colloquially termed the "Jilin CPC Party Chief".

In 2011, the nominal GDP of Jilin province totaled RMB 1053.1 billion (US$167.1 billion). Its GDP has been rising at a double-digit rate since 2003, growing 51 percent from 2003 to 2007. Per capita nominal GDP increased to RMB 26,289 (US$3,848) in 2009. Meanwhile, the incremental value and profit of large enterprises witnessed an increase of 19 percent and 30 percent respectively, compared with 2005 figures.[17]

Jilin's agricultural production is centered upon rice, wheat, maize, and sorghum. Rice is mostly cultivated in the eastern parts, such as Yanbian Prefecture. The Changbai Mountains are an important source of lumber. Sheep herding is an important activity in the western parts, such as Baicheng.

Among its natural resources, Jilin has the largest reserves of shale oil and one of the top five largest mineral reserves in China.[18] Compared to other provinces of China, Jilin has extensive deposits of Kieselguhr, wollastonite, floatstone, and molybdenum.

Industry in Jilin is concentrated on automobiles, train carriages, and iron alloy.

Jilin is one of the most important commodity grain bases in China. It is ranked 6th in timber production.[10]

Traditionally, Jilin has been known as a major pharmaceutical center, with yields of ginseng and deer antlers among the largest in China, being used extensively in Traditional Chinese medicine.[9][18]

There are 35,216 km (21,882 mi) of highways, including over 500 km (310 mi) of expressways.

The province has an excellent rail network, begun by the Japanese, with Changchun as its main hub. There are four major new railway projects which started construction in 2007. One of these, the Harbin–Dalian High-Speed Railway connecting Harbin with Dalian via Changchun was completed in 2012. Trains on the line can travel at up to 350 km/h (220 mph). The four railway projects were estimated to cost RMB13 billion, and the province urged foreign investors to invest in them. A line from Changchun to Jilin City, expected to be completed in 2015, was expected to cut the journey times between the cities from 96 minutes to 30. The railway network in Jilin can be divided into two directions in the northwest–southeast and southwest–northeast. The main trunk line Beijing-Harbin railway runs through the north and south of Jilin. From Jilin Province, it can go directly to Harbin, Shenyang, Dalian, Beijing, Tianjin, Xi'an, Shijiazhuang, Wuhan, Jinan, and so on. By the end of 2015, the railway business mileage of Jilin province reached 4,877.4 km (3,030.7 mi).

The main commercial airport is Changchun Longjia International Airport; other commercial airports include Yanji Chaoyangchuan International Airport, Tonghua Sanyuanpu Airport, Baicheng Chang'an Airport, Songyuan Chaganhu Airport and Changbaishan Airport.[9]

Jilin is landlocked. River navigation is possible from April to November. The major river ports are at Da'an, Jilin city and Fuyu. In 2007, Jilin started construction on a two-phase RMB60 million comprehensive river port; the first phase is finished. The port is on the Songhua River, has an annual throughput of two million tons, and will connect to the waterways of Northeast China.[10] Aviation takes Changchun as the center, supplemented by Yanji and Baishan. It can go directly to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Haikou, Ningbo, Dalian, Kunming, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan and so on. Changchun Longjia Airport, Yanji Airport, Tonghua Sanyuanpu Airport and Changbaishan Airport, etc.

Jilin is inhabited by Han Chinese, Manchus, Hui, Mongols and Xibe. Most ethnic Koreans live in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. The Manchu people were once the majority in the area of Jilin, making it part of their historical region. With the adoption of Han culture and the Chinese languages by the Manchu people, the Manchu language is considered a critically endangered language.[35] Koreans comprise about 4% of the population, owing to its proximity to the Korean Peninsula. The majority of the province speaks Mandarin.

Excludes members of the People's Liberation Army in active service.[36]

Jilin is part of Northeast China and shares many similarities in culture to neighbouring regions, such as Errenzhuan and Yangge. Among its music, Jiju, or Jilin Opera, is a form of traditional entertainment that Jilin has innovated over its short migrant history.

The ethnic Koreans of Jilin have a distinct culture, closely tied to Korea.

Languages

Languages spoken in Jilin: yellow: Mandarin; blue: Korean; red: Mongolian

The majority of the province speaks Mandarin, the official language of China. Closer to the east, many people speak Korean. Some people of Qian Gorlos autonomous county speak Mongolian.

The Goguryeo sites and tombs found in Ji'an, Jilin, including Hwando Mountain City, Gungnae City, and the pyramidal Tomb of the General, have been listed as part of the Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom, a World Heritage Site.

Paektu Mountain, especially Heaven Lake on the border with North Korea, are popular tourist destinations due to their natural scenery.

Ancient Tombs at Longtou Mountain, including the Mausoleum of Princess Jeonghyo, are royal tombs of Balhae found in Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture.

• O Kuk-ryol, Chinese-born North Korean general and politician
• Choe Hyon, Chinese-born North Korean general and politician
• Ri Tu-ik, Chinese-born North Korean vice-marshal and politician
• Li Hongbo, sculptor
• Guo Junchen, actor

• List of Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Jilin

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Jilin.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jilin.

• Jilin Government website (in English)
• Jilin Administration of Industry and Commerce (in Chinese)
• Development zones and ports (in Chinese)
• Economic profile for Jilin at HKTDC