Liaoning
(2002 est. pop. 44.6 million). Liaoning Province is in the southern part of Northeast China. Bounded by the Yellow and Bo Hai Seas in the south, with a coastline 2,187 kilometers long, it has a total area of 145,900 square kilometers. Jilin Province, Inner Mongolia, and Hebei Province surround it. The Liao River, the principal waterway of the province, flows through the middle part of Liaoning from north to south. The Yalu River on the eastern fringe forms the boundary between China and North Korea. The Liaodong Peninsula juts out between the Yellow and Bo Hai Seas from the landmass. Liaoning has a zigzag coast and many rocky islands and fine natural harbors. It has a population of 40.57 million (1996). Ethnic groups living there include Man, Mongolians, Koreans, and Xibo.
Liaoning has a temperate continental monsoonal climate, with hot, rainy summers, long, cold winters with little snow; and short, windy springs. It has an average annual temperature of 6–11°C, a frost-free period of 130–180 days, and a mean annual precipitation of 400–1,000 millimeters, which decreases notably from southeast to northwest.
Liaoning grows sorghum, maize, rice, and soybeans and the cash crops of cotton, tobacco, and peanuts. It is also the major tussah-silk grower of China. The apples of southern Liaoning and the pears of western Liaoning are known throughout China. The province also produces ginseng and antlers, valuable ingredients for traditional Chinese medicine. The fishery industry is developed along the coast.
Liaoning has rich mineral resources, especially iron ore and coal mines. Fushun and Fuxin, popularly called the "coal capital" and the "coal sea," produce top-quality coal as the largest open-cast mining centers in China. With a well-grounded heavy industry, Liaoning is one of China's major industrial bases. It leads the country in the production of iron and steel, aluminum, sulfuric acid, soda ash, heavy machinery, magnesia, and talcum. With its railway mileage exceeding 4,000 kilometers of tracks, Liaoning has the densest network of rail lines in the country.
Shenyang, the provincial capital, is the largest city of Northeast China, with a population of more than 6.5 million, and is one of its economic, communications, and cultural centers. Shenyang is known throughout China for its machine-building industry.
Dalian, the most famous city in Liaoning, lies at the southern tip of the Liaodong peninsula. One of the most beautiful cities in China, it is a tourist paradise, with European-style architecture framing its skyline and miles of beaches along the oceanfront.
Further Reading
China Handbook Editorial Committee, comp., (1992) Geography, China Handbook Series. Trans. by Liang Liangxing. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press.
Hsieh Chiao-min, and Max Lu, eds. (2001) Changing China: A Geographical Appraisal. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
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