Northeast China

Northeastern China is known in Chinese contexts as simply the Northeast or, from the Mandarin pronunciation of its Chinese name, as Dōngběi.

The area was known in European languages as Manchuria, as it was the homeland of the Manchu people who ruled China as its Qing dynasty from the 17th to early 20th century. The name was not used by the Qing themselves,[3] who called the area their "Three East" or "Eastern Provinces",[4][note 1] and its use is discouraged by the People's Republic of China, which associates the exonym with the Manchu puppet-state installed by the Imperial Japanese in 1932. It is known more specifically as Inner Manchuria when it needs to be distinguished from Outer Manchuria, the parts of Manchuria ceded to the Russian Empire through the Amur Annexation in the 1850s.

Historically, the area was also known as Liaoyang (from its capital at Liaoyang) under the Yuan; as Nurgan (from its capital at Tyr) under the Ming; and as Guanwai or Guandong,[note 2] meaning "Lands beyond" or "Lands East of the Pass" in reference to the Shanhai Pass or Shanhaiguan between Hebei and Liaoning. Under Japanese occupation, the name Guandong was more specifically associated with the Kwantung Leased Territory around Dalian, "Kwan-tung" being the same name in Wade-Giles romanization.

Provincial capitals in bold.

Part of a series on the
History of Manchuria
Ancient period Early tribes Dangun Joseon Gija Joseon Wiman Joseon Yan Han dynasty Sushen Donghu Wuhuan Xianbei state Cao Wei (Yan) Buyeo Goguryeo Sima Jin dynasty Yuwen Former Yan Former Qin Later Yan Northern Yan Kumo Xi Khitan Northern Wei Mohe Shiwei
Medieval period Tang Protectorate Balhae Liao dynasty Jurchen Jin dynasty Yuan rule Northern Yuan dynasty Ming rule Qing rule
Modern period Republic of China (Fengtian Clique) Russian Empire Far Eastern Republic Green Ukraine Korean People's Association in Manchuria Manchukuo Soviet Union P.R. China (Northeast China) Russia (Outer Manchuria)

A wooden Bodhisattva statue, Jin dynasty, Shanghai Museum

Northeast China was the homeland of several ethnic groups, including the Koreans, Manchus (or Jurchens), Ulchs, Hezhen (also known as the Goldi and Nanai). Various ethnic groups and their respective kingdoms, including the Sushen, Xianbei, and Mohe have risen to power in the Northeast. Various states and dynasties such as the State of Yan, Han Dynasty, Gongsun Yuan, Cao Wei, Western Jin, Former Yan, Former Qin, Later Yan, Tang Dynasty, Yuan dynasty, Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty ruled parts of the region.

Many Korean kingdoms have also incorporated parts of modern-day Northeast China, including Gojoseon, Buyeo, Goguryeo, and Balhae. During the Song dynasty, the Khitan set up the Liao Dynasty in Northeast China. Later, the Jurchen overthrew the Liao and formed the Jin dynasty, which went on to conquer northern China. In AD 1234, the Jin dynasty fell to the Mongols, whose Yuan Dynasty was later replaced by the Ming Dynasty in 1368. In 1644, the Han Bannermen established the Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and unified the entirety of China.

Northeast China came under influence of the Russian Empire with the building of the Chinese Eastern Railway through Harbin to Vladivostok. The Empire of Japan replaced Russian influence in the region as a result of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904–1905, and Japan laid the South Manchurian Railway in 1906 to Port Arthur. During the Warlord Era in China, Zhang Zuolin established himself in Northeast China, but was murdered by the Japanese for being too independent. The last Qing dynasty emperor, Puyi, was then placed on the throne to lead a Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. After the atomic bombing of Japan in 1945, the Soviet Union invaded the region as part of its declaration of war against Japan. From 1945 to 1948, Northeast China was a base area for the Communist People's Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. With the encouragement of the Soviet Union, the area was used as a staging ground during the Civil War for the Chinese Communists, who were victorious in 1949 and have been controlling this region since.

Northeast China has a total population of about 107,400,000 people, accounting for 8% of China's total population. The overwhelming majority of the population in the Northeast is Han Chinese, many of whose ancestors came in the 19th and 20th centuries during a migration movement called "Chuang Guandong" (simplified Chinese: 闯关东; traditional Chinese: 闖關東; lit. 'venture into the east of the Pass'). Northeast China historically had a significant Han Chinese population, reaching over 3 million by the end of Ming Dynasty, but they were subjected to eviction and assimilation by the conquest of the Qing Dynasty, who then set up Willow Palisades during the reign of Shunzhi Emperor and prohibited any settlement of Han Chinese into the region. Despite officially prohibiting Han Chinese settlement, by the 18th century the Qing decided to settle Han into the Northeast so that Han Chinese farmed 500,000 hectares in the region by the 1780s.[8][9][10][11][12] Besides moving into the Liao area in southern Manchuria, the path linking Jinzhou, Fengtian, Tieling, Changchun, Hulun, and Ningguta was settled by Han Chinese during the Qianlong Emperor's reign, and Han Chinese were the majority in urban areas of Manchuria by 1800.[13][14] This resulted in the local Han Chinese population growing to over 20 million before the Second Sino-Japanese War. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China at the end of the Chinese Civil War, further immigrations were organized by the Central Government to "develop the Great Northern Wilderness" (开发北大荒), eventually peaking the population over 100 million people.

Because most people in Northeast China trace their ancestries back to the migrants from the Chuang Guandong era, Northeastern Chinese were more culturally uniform compared to other geographical regions of China. People from the Northeast would first identify themselves as "Northeasterners" (东北人) before affiliating to individual provinces and cities/towns.

Ethnic Manchus form the second significant ethnic group in Northeast China, followed by the Mongols, Koreans, and the Huis, as well as 49 other ethnic minorities such as Daurs, Sibos, Hezhens, Oroqens, Evenks, Kyrgyz, etc.

The Northeast was one of the earliest regions to industrialize in China during the era of Manchukuo. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Northeast China continued to be a major industrial base of the country, and has been hailed as "the Republic's eldest son" (共和国长子). Recent years, however, have seen the stagnation of Northeast China's heavy-industry-based economy, as China's economy continues to liberalize and privatize; the government has initialized the Revitalize the Northeast campaign to counter this problem, and established the Northeast Summit to improve policy coordination and integration. The region has experienced difficulty distancing itself from a planned economy, a legacy that began in 1905 with the establishment of the Japanese sphere of influence there. The region's once-abundant raw materials have also depleted and the economy has suffered from bureaucratic inefficiency and protectionist politics.[15]

The region is, on the whole, more heavily urbanised than most parts of China, largely because it was the first part of the country to develop heavy industry owing to its abundant coal reserves. Major cities include Shenyang, Dalian, Harbin, Changchun and Anshan, all with several million inhabitants. Other cities include the steel making centres of Fushun and Anshan in Liaoning, Jilin City in Jilin, and Qiqihar and Mudanjiang in Heilongjiang. Harbin, more than any other city in China, possesses significant Russian influences: there are many Orthodox churches that have fallen out of use since the Cultural Revolution. Shenyang and Dalian, meanwhile, have sizable populations of Japanese and South Koreans due to their traditional linkages.

The rural population of the Northeast is heavily concentrated in the warmer southern part of the area, where very warm to hot summer weather permits crops such as maize and millet to be grown with high yields. Soybeans and flax are also very important, as are wheat and barley. The region possesses large flocks of sheep, and pigs are abundant in the more densely settled southern part. The northern half of Heilongjiang is so cold and poorly drained that agriculture is almost impossible; however, the Amur River provides very rich fishing prospects, and sheep are even more abundant than in southern Heilongjiang.

Northeast China is the country's traditional industrial base, focusing mainly on equipment manufacturing. Major industries include the steel, automobile, shipbuilding, aircraft manufacturing, and petroleum refining industries. The gross regional product of the three northeast provinces totaled ¥1.63 trillion in 2002. In recent years, the Chinese government has initialized the "Revitalize the Northeast campaign" to turn this region into one of China's economic growth engines. As of 2015 the region was losing population and the economy, dominated by state-owned enterprises, was stagnant.[16]

Dalian Hotel at Zhongshan Square in Dalian

In general, the culture of Northeast China takes its elements from the cultures of North China and Shandong, where most of the Han Chinese migration into Northeast China, known as Chuang Guandong, originated, the native Korean and Tungusic peoples, and its own innovations.

• Jilin University (吉林大学)
• Northeast Agricultural University (东北农业大学)
• Northeast Normal University (东北师范大学)
• Harbin Institute of Technology (哈尔滨工业大学)
• Northeastern University (东北大学)
• Liaoning University (辽宁大学)
• Shenyang Agricultural University (沈阳农业大学)
• Shenyang University of Chemical Technology (沈阳化工大学)
• Dalian University of Technology (大连理工大学)
• Dalian Maritime University (大连海事大学)
• Northeast Forestry University (东北林业大学)
• Shenyang Normal University (沈阳师范大学)
• Changchun University of Science and Technology (长春理工大学)
• Northeast Petroleum University (东北石油大学)
• Shenyang Aerospace University (沈阳航空航天大学)
• Harbin Engineering University (哈尔滨工程大学)
• Heilongjiang University (黑龙江大学)
• Dongbei University of Finance and Economics (东北财经大学)