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延边朝鲜族自治州
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Yánbiān Cháoxiǎnzú Zìzhìzhōu
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Yanpien Ch'aohsientsu Tzuchihchou
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연변 조선족 자치주<br />옌볜 조선족 자치주
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延邊朝鮮族自治州
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Yeonbyeon Joseonjok Jachiju<br />Yenbyen Joseonjok Jachiju
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Yŏnbyŏn Chosŏnjok Chach'iju<br />Yenbyen Chosŏnjok Chach'iju
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is an
Autonomous Prefecture in
Jilin province, in the northeastern part of the
People's Republic Of China . Yanbian is south of
Heilongjiang , east of Jilin's
Baishan City, north of
North Korea 's
North Hamgyong Province, and west of
Russia . Yanbian is designated as an autonomous prefecture due to the large number of ethnic
Koreans living in the region.
The prefectural
Capital is
Yanji , and the area is 42,700 km&
2 (one quarter of Jilin Province, about the size of
The Netherlands ).
The Prefecture has an important , which includes the
Mausoleum Of Princess Zhenxiao .
Balhae was an ancient Korean kingdom and civilization that flourished in the region in the 7th to 10th centuries.
The prefecture is subdivided into 8 and 2
Counties :
(For a map, see
#External Links )
The above counties and cities are divided into 642 villages (边境村/邊境村).
Yanbian was inhabited since 26,000 years ago by what today the Chinese called the Antu (安圖人) (a county is named after them). Since around the
8th Century , Yanbian was part of
Balhae . In the
Ming Dynasty , Yanbian was Jianzhou Guard-district (建州衛), late
Qing Dynasty divided into Yanji (延吉廳) and Hunchun (琿春廳)
Subprefecture s.
In the 19th century, many Korean immigrants migrated en masse from the Korea Peninsula to China. After the foundation of the
Republic Of China , a second wave arrived. The population increase was caused by a Japanese invasion in that region. The Japanese were trying to use Korean immigration to diffuse the staying power of Chinese in that region. After the end of
World War II , many Koreans in China did not go back to Korea, even though their country was liberated. Instead, they joined the
Chinese Civil War and were mobilized by communist leader
Mao Zedong to fight against the
Chinese Nationalist army. As a reward for their involvement, the Communist Party gave Koreans their own autonomous prefecture inside China and divided the land of Han Chinese among the cooperating Koreans.
The name "Yanbian" was created in the ns to refer to the entire larger region of Manchuria long inhabited by those of Korean ethnicity. After the
PRC , it became an autonomous region (区) in
1952 , and upgraded to an autonomous prefecture in
1955 .
- Geographic Coordinate s: 41°59'47" - 44°30'42", 127°27'43" - 131°18'33" E
- Boundary length: 755.2 Km
- ---China-Korea: 522.5 km
- ---China-Russia: 232.7 km
Mountains that are in the prefecture are:
- The central range of Changbai Mountain (長白山主脈)
- Zhangguangcai Peak (張廣才嶺)
- Harba Peak (哈爾巴嶺)
- Peony Peak (牡丹嶺)
- Old Master Peak (老爺嶺)
- Nan'gang Mountain Range (南崗山脈)
There have been over 40 types of
Mineral s and 50 kinds of metals, including
Gold ,
Lead ,
Zinc Copper ,
Silver ,
Manganese and
Mercury , discovered near or in the mountains.
Average land height is 500
Metre s above
Sea Level .
Main rivers include:
The rivers sustain 28 running water processing facilities.
The rivers created basins, which are suitable for agricultural uses, like
Rice paddies and
Bean farms.
Railways include:
- Chang-Tu Line (长图线/長圖線): most important
- Mu-Tu Line (牡图线/牡圖線)
- Chao-Kai Line (朝开线/朝開線): Yangchuan-Shantun Line (阳川山屯线/陽川山屯線)
- Tumen-Hunchun Railway: under construction
Public roads are 1,480-
Kilometre altogether. There are four airports.
Ethnicity compositions:
- 2,184,000 (1997)
- ---39.7% Korean (854,000), about 60% in the capital, Yanji
- ---57.4% Han
- ---2.4% Manchu s
- ---0.3% Hui
- ---0.1% other Nationalities , including the Mongol s
- Growth rate 0.4%.
Population density: 51 people per
Km&2 .
Like the peninsular Koreans, Yanbianese Koreans' most common
Surname is Kim. Many immigrated from Korea during the
19th Century , and again during the Japanese Occupation.
The Yanbianese have one of the highest living standard in the
PRC , with an index of urbanization standard (城市化水准/城市化水準) at 55.6%, 20 more percents than the provincial standard (31.3%) and 25 more than the national (26.5%).¹
The Korean language Yanbianese use is purely in
Hangul , without any
Hanja . Like peninsular Korean language, Yanbianese Korean has Western
Punctuation , and not Chinese.
Yanbian University is the only university in China that teaches courses at 12 colleges in Korean as well as Chinese languages.
The Museum of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture was planned in 1960, and constructed in
1982 . It contains over 10,000 exhibits, including 11 first-level artifacts. The exhibits' labels and explanations are bilingual in Korean and Chinese, and tour guides are also available in both languages.
There are seven public parks in Yanbian's green space (18% of whole prefecture), including:
- Yanji People's Park (延吉人民公园/延吉人民公園)
- Youth Lake Park (青年湖公园/青年湖公園)
Also popular among locals during holidays and festivities.
Over 70% are originally forest in the prefecture, so there is a rich diversity of life.
¹ "Jilin's Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture Urbanization Standard Exceeds that of the Whole Country" (吉林延邊朝鮮族自治州城市化水準走在全國前列) ''
Xinhua News '' 2002-09-02 09:46:06: article no longer on-line
