Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture
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| Administration Type | Autonomous prefecture |
| Seat | Yanji |
| Area | 42,700 km² |
| Population | 2,184,000 (1997) |
| GDP - Total - Per Capita |
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| Major Nationalities | Han Koreans |
| County-level divisions | 8 |
| Township-level divisions | |
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Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture (Chinese: 延边朝鲜族自治州; pinyin: Yánbiān Cháoxiǎnzú Zìzhìzhōu; Korean: 연변조선족자치주 Yeonbyeon Joseonjok Jachiju) 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 km².
The Prefecture has an important Balhae archaeological site: the Ancient Tombs at Longtou Mountain, which includes the Mausoleum of Princess Zhenxiao.
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[edit] Administration
The prefecture is subdivided into 8 county-level divisions: 6 county-level cities and 2 counties:
- Yanji City (延吉市 Yánjí Shì): formerly county until 1950s
- Tumen City (图们市/圖們市 Túmén Shì): established in 1965
- Longjing City (龙井市/龍井市 Lóngjǐng Shì): formerly county until 1987
- Hunchun City (珲春市/琿春市 Húnchūn Shì): formerly county until 1983
- Dunhua City (敦化市 Dūnhuà Shì): formerly county until 1985
- Helong City (和龙市/和龍市 Hélóng Shì): formerly county until 1993
- Antu County (安图县/安圖縣 Āntú Xiàn)
- Wangqing County (汪清县/汪清縣 Wāngqīng Xiàn)
(For a map, see #External links)
The above counties and cities are divided into 642 villages (边境村/邊境村).
[edit] History
Yanbian was inhabited 26,000 years ago by what today the Chinese call the Antu (安圖人) (a county is named after them). Since about the 8th century A.D., Yanbian was part of Balhae. In the Ming Dynasty, Yanbian was the Jianzhou Guard-district (建州衛), and in the late Qing Dynasty the area was divided into the Yanji (延吉廳) and Hunchun (琿春廳) Subprefectures.
In the 19th century, many Korean immigrants migrated en masse from the Korean 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 of China gave Koreans their own autonomous region (区) in 1952, inside China and divided the land of Han Chinese among the cooperating Koreans. Yanbian was upgraded to an autonomous prefecture in 1955.
The name "Yanbian" was created in the 1920s, because it stretches (yan) on the boundary (bian) of three nations. It was also in the Yanji Border-affairs Public Bureau, where Yanji means Luck of the Stretch. During the Manchukuo period, it was called Kan-do (間島) Province by the Japanese. The same characters when used as hanja in Korean are pronounced and romanized as Gando (hangul: 간도), the name still currently used by Koreans to refer to the entire larger region of Manchuria long inhabited by those of Korean ethnicity.
[edit] Geography
- Geographic coordinates: 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 minerals 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 metres above sea level.
Main rivers include:
- Songhua River
- Peony River
- Tumen River
- Gaya River (流嘎呀河): branch of the Tumen
- Hunchun River (琿春河)
The rivers sustain 28 running water processing facilities.
The rivers created basins, which are suitable for agricultural uses, like rice paddies and bean farms.
[edit] Transportation
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.
[edit] Demographics
Ethnicity compositions:
- 2,184,000 (1997)
- 39.7% Korean (854,000), about 60% in the capital, Yanji
- 57.4% Han
- 2.4% Manchus
- 0.3% Hui
- 0.1% other nationalities, including the Mongols
- Growth rate 0.4%.
Population density: 51 people per km².
Like the peninsular Koreans, Yanbian 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
[edit] Culture
People in Yanbian use the Korean language. Like the peninsular Korean language, Yanbianese Korean uses Western punctuation for its writing.
Yanbian University is the only university in China that teaches courses at 12 colleges in Korean as well as Chinese.
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.
[edit] Tourism
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.
[edit] Nature and Environment
Over 70% are originally forest in the prefecture, so there is a rich diversity of life.
[edit] References
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
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official government website: in Korean and simplified Chinese
- Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture: by the Information Office of Jilin Provincial Government
- A map labeled in Chinese written in the list in the "Administration" section
- Yanbian University: in Korean, simplified Chinese, and English
Prefecture-level divisions of Jilin
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| List of Jilin County-level divisions |
