Anshan () is an inland
prefecture-level city
A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure.
During the Republican era, many of China' ...
in central-southeast
Liaoning province
Liaoning () is a coastal provinces of China, province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and i ...
,
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, about south of the provincial capital
Shenyang
Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a major China, Chinese sub-provincial city and the List of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Lia ...
. As of the 2020 census, it was Liaoning's third most populous city with a population of 3,325,372 people, over an area of about spanning from east to the west. Its built-up area encompassing the 4 Anshan urban districts (1,543,696 inhabitants), the 4 out of 5 urban
Liaoyang districts (796,962 inhabitants, Gongchangling not being conurbated yet) and Liaoyang county largely being conurbated, was home to 2,712,789 million inhabitants in 2020.
The city's name came from the
horse saddle-like shape of a nearby mountain south of the city, which can be seen on the left (west) about five minutes before the northbound train arrives at
Anshan railway station
Anshan railway station () is a railway station located in Anshan, Liaoning, China, on the Shenyang-Dalian and Harbin–Dalian lines, which are operated by China Railway
China State Railway Group Company, Ltd., doing business as China Railwa ...
. Anshan is home to the
Anshan Iron and Steel Group, one of the largest
steel producers in China. Anshan is
sister city
A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.
While there are early examples of inter ...
with
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
.
Anshan holds one-third of the world's supply of
talcum and a quarter of the world's reserves of
magnesite
Magnesite is a mineral with the chemical formula (magnesium carbonate). Iron, manganese, cobalt, and nickel may occur as admixtures, but only in small amounts.
Occurrence
Magnesite occurs as veins in and an alteration product of ultramafic ro ...
.
Anshan also produced the largest ever
jade
Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...
stone, now a local tourist attraction carved as a
Buddha statue.
History
![Old Anshan Cheng Gate](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Old_Anshan_Cheng_Gate.jpg)
The area of Anshan has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The area remained of little significance, a small city in Liaodong province, overshadowed by neighbouring Liaoyang city, until the mid 20th Century. In 1587 Anshan was fortified by the
Ming Dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
to combat the growing power of the
Manchu
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
. The city was burnt down during the
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...
, and was destroyed again in the
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
(1904–1905). As a result of this war, Japan had gained influence in Liaoning and was engaged in industrialising the region. Anshan lay beside the new
South Manchuria Railway line that ran from the port of
Dalian
Dalian () is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China. Located on the ...
to the major city of
Shenyang
Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a major China, Chinese sub-provincial city and the List of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Lia ...
. As a joint Sino-Japanese venture, Anshan Zhenzing Iron Ore Company Unlimited was started in Anshan in 1918. After the
Mukden Incident
The Mukden Incident, or Manchurian Incident, known in Chinese as the 9.18 Incident (九・一八), was a false flag event staged by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria.
On September 18, 1931, L ...
in 1931, Japan occupied the northeast of China. The mills were turned into a Japanese owned monopoly. In 1933, the site was expanded to include steel production and the company was renamed
Showa Steel Works
The () was a Japanese government-sponsored steel mill that was one of the showpieces of the industrialization program for Manchukuo in the late 1930s.
Shōwa Steel Works began as the ''Anshan Iron & Steel Works'', a subsidiary of the South Manch ...
. Anshan became part of the Japanese puppet state of
Manchukuo
Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...
. Additional industries developed around the iron and steel mills. Anshan grew significantly in size around this new industrial site, becoming one of, if not the largest producer of iron and steel in Asia.
It was therefore of strategic importance in the
Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...
, and was subject to several attacks by
B-29 Superfortress
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...
strategic bomber
A strategic bomber is a medium- to long-range penetration bomber aircraft designed to drop large amounts of air-to-ground weaponry onto a distant target for the purposes of debilitating the enemy's capacity to wage war. Unlike tactical bombers, ...
s of the
USAAF. The Japanese Army detached the 1st ''Chutai'' (unit) of 104th ''
Sentai
In Japanese, is a military unit and may be literally translated as "squadron", " task force", " division (of ships)", "group" or "wing". The terms "regiment" and "flotilla", while sometimes used as translations of ''sentai'', are also used to ...
'' (squadron) of the
Imperial Japanese Army Air Force
The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) or Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF; ja, 大日本帝國陸軍航空部隊, Dainippon Teikoku Rikugun Kōkūbutai, lit=Greater Japan Empire Army Air Corps) was the aviation force of the Im ...
, to Anshan, with other air squadrons for industrial defense purposes. Although this unit was equipped with modern
Nakajima Ki-84 Ia (Manshu Type) Hayate "Frank" fighters, manufactured by
Manshūkoku Hikōki Seizo KK, the plant suffered heavy damage from the air raids, losing up to 30% of its capacity.
After the
war in Europe ended, the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
declared war on Japan, as the Red Army simultaneously launched
Operation August Storm
The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian strategic offensive operation (russian: Манчжурская стратегическая наступательная операция, Manchzhurskaya Strategicheskaya Nastu ...
. Soviet forces advanced rapidly and soon captured much of Manchuria from the Japanese. As they did throughout both Europe and Asia, the Soviets looted the areas they overran for anything of value, especially industrial infrastructure. The ruins of Shōwa Steel Works were ransacked for anything that could be taken back to the Soviet Union. With the defeat of Japan in 1945, Anshan was returned to China along with the rest of Chinese Manchuria. However, peace had not yet arrived. Civil war continued between the
Chinese Nationalist Government and the Communist
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
(PLA). The city of Anshan was the scene of one of the battles of this war. The city was taken by the PLA on February 19, 1948. A monument in Lieshishan park commemorates the battle.
The northeast of China was marked out to become a major industrial centre for the new People's Republic of China. Anshan was set to become a key part of this industrial development. The steel mills had been damaged during the wars. In December 1948, the Anshan Iron and Steel Company—also known as ''Angang''—was founded. Production in the newly repaired steel plant resumed on July 9, 1949. The plant was expanded to become the largest steel producer in China. Other industries setup alongside the steel plant including mining for coal, iron and other minerals. This industrial wealth had an environmental cost. The open-hearth furnaces of the steel mill created large amounts of dust and other pollution. Along with its growing reputation as a major steel producer, Anshan was also gaining a reputation as a dirty, smelly town.
Anshan became a formal administrative region under the Northeastern People's Government (later renamed as the Northeastern Administration Commission) in November, 1949.
Anshan is reported to have served as a base for Soviet MIG fighter aircraft and pilots during the Korean War (1950–1953) in air combat operations against US/UN forces.
On March 12, 1953, the city became a municipality under the Central Government direct administration.
Haicheng County and Xiuyan County were subordinated to
Liaodong Province. Tai'an County was subordinated to
Liaoxi
Liaoxi () was a former province in Northeast China, located in what is now part of Liaoning and Jilin provinces. It existed from 1949 to 1954, and its capital was Jinzhou
Jinzhou (, ), formerly Chinchow, is a coastal prefecture-level city ...
Province. August 22, 1954, the central government decided that Anshan should be administered by
Liaoning
Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...
Province. The State Council confirmed that Anshan should be in charge of Xiuyan County and Haicheng city in 1985.
The furnaces of the steel plant were changed in the 1980s to designs which blow oxygen in from the front. This increased the production and also reduced the pollution. In the 1990s, they were additionally altered to blow oxygen in from the top as well. This further increase production and reduced pollution. In December 2000, all three production lines of Anshan Iron and Steel company switched from mould-casting to continuous casting. This new technology has significantly reduced the dust and other pollution in the city. The new plant equipment is also much less labour-intensive. This has meant a reduction in the workforce has caused an unemployment problem in the city. A new drive to market Anshan as a tourist destination is hoped to help bolster the cities economy.
Geography
Sited on the edge of the
Liao River
The Liao River () is the principal river in southern Northeast China, and one of the seven main river systems in China. Its name derived from the Liao region, a historical name for southern Manchuria, from which the Liaoning province, Liaodong P ...
plains, Anshan has wide flat lands in the west and central regions that develop into hilly and mountainous terrain on the southeastern fringes, which is bounded by the
Qian Mountains Qian Mountains or Qianshan (), a branch of the Changbai Mountains on the China-North Korea border, start from eastern Jilin Province, China, and extend to eastern and southern Liaoning Province, down to Liaodong Peninsula.
Some of the prominent mou ...
and contains the famous
Qianshan National Park
Qianshan National Park () is a mountainous national park in Liaoning Province, China, 17 km by road, south east of Anshan. It is in the Qianshan Mountains (), named after itself, that extends from the Changbai Mountains in the China-Nort ...
. The region is rich in minerals including
iron ore
Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...
,
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
,
magnesite
Magnesite is a mineral with the chemical formula (magnesium carbonate). Iron, manganese, cobalt, and nickel may occur as admixtures, but only in small amounts.
Occurrence
Magnesite occurs as veins in and an alteration product of ultramafic ro ...
,
talcum and
jade
Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...
. The plains of western Anshan have large flat fertile fields ideal for agriculture, with of arable land accounting for 26.4% of its total land area. One such agricultural product that Anshan has become renowned for is the Nanguo pears (, ''
Pyrus ussuriensis c.v. Nanguo''), nicknamed the "king of pears".
Climate
Anshan has a
monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...
-influenced
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(
Köppen ''Dwa'') characterised by hot, humid summers, due to the monsoon, and rather long, cold, and very dry winters, due to the
Siberian anticyclone
The Siberian High (also Siberian Anticyclone; russian: Азиатский антициклон (''Aziatsky antitsiklon'')) is a massive collection of cold dry air that accumulates in the northeastern part of Eurasia from September until April. It ...
. The four seasons here are distinctive. Nearly half of the annual rainfall occurs in July and August. The monthly 24-hour average temperatures ranges from in January to in July, while the annual mean is . Sunshine is generous and amounts to 2,543 hours annually, while relative humidity averages 58%, ranging from 47% in March and April to 75% in July and August. Extreme temperatures have ranged from up to .
Administrative divisions
Anshan is divided into four districts, one town, one county and one autonomous county.
Economy
The north east of China is a major industrial zone and Anshan is one of the key sites of the north east. The city is renowned as "China's capital of iron and steel". Prior to the development of the Iron and Steel industries, Anshan was a relatively small city of little importance. As the steel mills expanded, so to did the city. Spin off industries developed alongside the steel plant making the area a centre of heavy industry.
As a joint Sino-Japanese venture, Anshan Zhenzing Iron Ore Company Unlimited was started in Anshan in 1918. When Japan occupied Northeast China in 1931, these mills were turned into a Japanese owned monopoly. Anshan subsequently became part of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo and additional industries developed around the iron and steel mills. Due to its mills, the city became a significant strategic industrial hub during World War II and as such, was subject to constant Allied bombing during the war.
Total production of processed
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
in
Manchuria
Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...
reached 1,000,000 tonnes in 1931–32, of which almost half was made by Shōwa Steel in Anshan. Iron production grew to 7,000,000 tonnes in 1938 and by 1941, Shōwa Steel Works had a total capacity production of 1,750,000 tonnes of iron bars and 1,000,000 tonnes of processed
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
. By 1942, Anshan's Shōwa Steel Works total production capacity reached 3,600,000 tonnes, making it one of the major iron and steel centers in the world.
![Showa Steel Works](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Showa_Steel_Works.JPG)
In 1945 the steel plant was looted by Soviet forces. The Republic of China government partially repaired the site, but it was destroyed again during the Chinese civil war that saw the Communist forces victorious. The mills were once again repaired and Anshan Iron and Steel Company (Angang) was founded in 1948. From then to 2001, the company produced 290 million tons of steel, 284 million tons of pig iron and 192 million tons of rolled steel. Until the opening of a new steel plant in Shanghai, Angang was the largest steel producer in China. Today, Angang consists of three steelworks with 13 rolling mills plus supporting plants which produce coke, refractory materials and machinery for the steel plants. The company has an annual production capacity of 10 million tons of pig iron, 10 million tons of steel and 9.5 million tons of rolled steel. A quarter of China's total iron ore reserves, about 10 billion tons, are located in Anshan, ensuring that the city will remain an important steel producer well into the future.
Anshan is rich in other mineral wealth too. The southern and south eastern areas of Anshan are rich in magnesite, with reserves equivalent to a quarter of all worldwide reserves. Anshan also has the world's largest reserve of talcum, accounting for fully one third of the entire world supply. The Xiuyan area of Anshan is known for the production of jade. The largest single jade stone ever found came from Xiuyan, now carved into the form of a Buddha, it is a major tourist attraction in the area.
Anshan is serviced by Shenyang airport, about to the north, and by two major highways linking it with Shenyang and Dalian.
The government of Anshan established a
five-year plan in 2000 with the aim of turning the city into a strong modern industrial city with plenty of tourism. It also aimed to make the city
GDP reach 100 billion RMB by 2005 and to build a modern industrial city by using advances in technology to transform the traditional industries. Attracting foreign investment is also another main idea in the plan. The Anshan government anticipates the foreign investment assets would be around 80 billion RMB by 2005.
Anshan has been identified by the
Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the research and analysis division of the Economist Group, providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts, ...
in the November 2010 Access China White Paper as a member of the
CHAMPS (
Chongqing,
Hefei, Anshan,
Maanshan,
Pingdingshan and
Shenyang), an economic profile of the top 20 emerging cities in China. The opportunities for engaging Anshan's consumers have been documented by the ethnographer and cultural sociologist Michael B. Griffiths.
Demographics
Out of the 3,584,000 people living in Anshan prefecture, 519,400 are
ethnic Manchu, a holdover from
northeast China
Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of t ...
's historical rule by the ethnic group. They are mainly in or around the Xiuyan Man regional ethnic autonomy area which is within Anshan's borders. During the last years of the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
, large numbers of
Han
Han may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group.
** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...
people migrated to the north east in search of work. This pattern continued into the 20th century. The development of Anshan as a large industrial center during and after World War II caused the city's population to increase rapidly, and the new arrivals began to significantly outnumber the local Man people. As of the last census data, Anshan was home to 48 Chinese ethnic groups. The Han people make up the lion's share at 3,020,500 people. Next, after the Han and Man people, come the
Hui
The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...
and the
Chaoxian with 23,400 and 10,000 people respectively. The Hui population is widely dispersed but the Chaoxian population is mostly concentrated in Teixi (West district) and Qianshan district.
Anshan has a population of 3.65 million at the 2010 census. As the city has expanded, the area between Anshan and the neighbouring city of Liaoyang has become urbanised, with little or no farmland visible on route between them. According to the 2010 census, the conurbation of urban Anshan and urban Liaoyang districts contains 2.17 million inhabitants.
The city of Anshan can be divided into districts. The East district, Tiedong has a population of 452,900. The western district, Tiexi has 311,600 people. These two districts are demarcated by the railway lines that run north to south through the city. The north western portion of the city is dominated by the large steel works of Angang. The district of Lishan houses 425,600 people and the suburbs of Qianshan district have 366,200 soles. Within Anshan prefecture lies the subordinate city of Haicheng which accounts for 1,181,100 people. The neighbouring subordinate town of Tai'an has 354,700 people.
Transportation
![Anshan train station](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Anshan_train_station.jpg)
Anshan has no river or sea port. The nearby military airport,
Anshan Teng'ao Airport
Anshan Teng'ao Airport () , also called Anshan Air Base is a civil-military airport serving the city of Anshan in Liaoning Province, and a People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) installation in the Northern Theater Command Air Force. It is ...
(AOG), also accepts commercial domestic flights. Currently there are five routes in operation, Anshan–Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Nanjing, with one flight each per day throughout the year. Anshan Teng'ao Airport is southwest of the city centre. In addition to the small terminal building at the airport, there is also a city terminal situated just off Qianshan Road in Tiexi district. Passengers may buy tickets and check-in at the city terminal, from which they are taken by coach to the main airport terminal. The nearest other major commercial airports are
Shenyang Taoxian International Airport
Shenyang Taoxian International Airport is an airport serving Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province. It is located about south of the city center in Hunnan District. It is a focus city for China Southern Airlines and is the 23rd busiest airpo ...
(SHE), about to the north and
Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport
Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport is the airport serving the city of Dalian in Liaoning Province, China. It is located in Ganjingzi District, about northwest of the city center. In 2018 the airport handled 18,758,171 passengers, making ...
about to the south.
The city is beside the
Shenyang–Dalian Expressway (part of the
G15 Shenyang–Haikou Expressway), a privately funded eight-lane tolled highway, and was the first road of its kind in mainland China. The
Liaozhong Ring Expressway (G91) passes just a few kilometers north of Anshan city. It connects east to
Benxi and west onto the Jingshen Expressway (G1). The
Panhai and Danxi Expressways (together forming the G16) pass through Anshan's counties of Haicheng and Xiuyan, connecting them to
Yingkou and
Panjin
Panjin () is a coastal prefecture-level city in central Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, situated on the northern shore of the Liaodong Bay. It borders Anshan to the east, Yingkou to the southeast, and Jinzhou to the west and north ...
in the west and
Dandong
Dandong (), formerly known as Andong, is a coastal prefecture-level city in southeastern Liaoning province, in the northeastern region of People's Republic of China.
It is the largest Chinese border city, facing Sinuiju, North Korea across the ...
to the east.
Anshan is connected to the Chinese rail network with rail routes to
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, Dalian, and to the northeastern provinces of
Jilin
Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...
and
Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...
as well as to eastern
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...
, and even a direct, albeit slow, train to
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. As of December 2012, the new
Harbin–Dalian High-Speed Railway serves
Anshan West Railway Station
Anshan West railway station is a railway station in Anshan, Liaoning province, China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceedi ...
and
Haicheng West Railway Station. It connects south to Dalian and north east to Shenyang,
Changchun
Changchun (, ; ), also romanized as Ch'angch'un, is the capital and largest city of Jilin Province, People's Republic of China. Lying in the center of the Songliao Plain, Changchun is administered as a , comprising 7 districts, 1 county and 3 c ...
and
Harbin
Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...
. This line was hailed as the world's first alpine high-speed rail line. In summer it runs at its full speed of 300 km/h but in winter speeds are restricted to 200 km/h. High-speed services also run via Anshan to Beijing. Tai'an county of Anshan is served by another high-speed rail line linking Shenyang to Beijing.
Long-distance coaches run to all the main cities of the province as well as to Beijing.
Local transportation is primarily by bus or taxi. Anshan used to have a single
tram line—along Zhonghua Avenue, through the city centre and past Angang main gate—but this has been closed and the tracks removed. Due to the flat topography of the city centre, bicycles are popular. Almost all roads have a wide cycle lane on each side. Often this lane is further protected by a traffic island that separates the bikes from larger motor vehicles.
Tourist attractions
In recent years, Anshan has been trying to throw off its image as a heavy industrial town along with the dirt and pollution that goes with such industry. It has remodeled itself as a tourist destination.
![Qianshan National Park 2, China](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Qianshan_National_Park_2%2C_China.jpg)
Foremost among the attractions in Anshan is
Qianshan National Park
Qianshan National Park () is a mountainous national park in Liaoning Province, China, 17 km by road, south east of Anshan. It is in the Qianshan Mountains (), named after itself, that extends from the Changbai Mountains in the China-Nort ...
which is about , by road, to the southeast of the city. Qianshan, literally 'Thousand Mountains', is an abbreviation of 'Thousand lotus flower mountains'. The peaks were said to resemble the petals of the lotus flower which had been dropped to earth by a goddess. The park area of , is filled with both
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
and
Taoist
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...
temples, monasteries and nunneries. It is one of few locations where both religions are found sharing the same site. Cars are not allowed within the park.
One of the mountains in the park is believed to resemble
Maitreya
Maitreya (Sanskrit: ) or Metteyya (Pali: ), also Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha, is regarded as the future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. As the 5th and final Buddha of the current kalpa, Maitreya's teachings will be aimed at ...
Buddha. It is claimed to be the largest naturally occurring image of Maitreya in the world. Several temples have been built on the peaks of the overlooking hills. Near the Buddha is a bird park.
![Jade Buddha Palace in Anshan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Jade_Buddha_Palace_in_Anshan.jpg)
Another major tourist location is "219 Park". The name of the park commemorates the liberation of Anshan by the People's Liberation Army on February 19, 1948. The park contains the Dongshan (East Mountain) scenic area as well as numerous lakes.
Of particular note is the
Jade Buddha Palace
Jade Buddha Palace (, sometimes also translated as Jade Buddha Garden or Jade Buddha Temple) is a temple complex housing one of the largest jade Buddha statues in the world. Located in Anshan, Liaoning province, the complex covers . It is sit ...
. This large Buddhist temple complex of 22,104 square metres, houses the world's largest statue of Buddha made of Jade (It is called jade in Chinese, but in English it is Serpentine). It is a single piece of jade stone measuring 6.88 metres in width, 4.10 metres front to back and 7.95 metres high. The jade stone weighs 260.76 tons.
The front of the stone has been carved with an image of
Sakyamuni
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
(aka. Gautama) Buddha. On the back of the stone
Guanyin
Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...
(aka. Avalokitesvara) Buddha has been carved. The jade stone was found in 1960 in Xiuyan County. It was declared a treasure of the State and listed as a protected property by Chinese Premier
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...
. Anshan city government commissioned the carving which took a team of 120 sculptures 18 months to complete. The temple complex was opened on September 3, 1996. The building that houses the Jade Buddha statue is 33 metres tall, representing the 33 layers of heaven in Buddhism. It claims to be one of the tallest two-story buildings of traditional Chinese architectural style in China.
Anshan contains naturally hot spring water spas. There are four spas/hotels in Anshan. Visitors may shower and bathe in the spring water. At
Tanggangzi Spa, once frequented by the Qing Emperors of China, visitors may have mud treatment where they are buried in hot volcanic sand, which has been infused with the spring water. The
geothermal energy
Geothermal energy is the thermal energy in the Earth's crust which originates from the formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of materials in currently uncertain but possibly roughly equal proportions. The high temperature and pres ...
is also used to provide hot steam and water for winter heating throughout the area.
Education system
The city contains two large universities:
*
Anshan Normal University
Anshan Normal University () is a university in the city of Anshan, in Liaoning province. It is under the provincial government. The school was founded in 1958 as a teacher training centre but suspended all operations in 1962 at the dawn of the Ch ...
*
University of Science and Technology, Liaoning University of Science and Technology Liaoning located in Anshan City, Liaoning Province, is the earliest metallurgical University established in China. Originally a university directly under the Ministry of metallurgy, it is a first-class key univer ...
Notable people
*
Kei Tomiyama
, better known by his stage name , was a Japanese actor, voice actor, and narrator born in Anshan, Manchukuo. Tomiyama was affiliated with Aoni Production and Production Baobab.
Tomiyama is best known for his roles in ''Tiger Mask'' (Naoto Date/ ...
(1938–1995), Japanese actor, voice actor, and narrator, born in Anshan
*
Zhang Dejiang
Zhang Dejiang (; born 4 November 1946) is a Chinese retired politician. He served as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress, roughly the equivalent of a speaker of parliament in other countries between ...
(b. 1946), retired politician, served as the
Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the
12th National People's Congress
The 12th National People's Congress was elected in national congressional conferences from October 2012 to February 2013 and was in session from 2013 to 2018. It succeeded the 11th National People's Congress. It held five plenary sessions in ...
*
Ann Hui
Ann Hui On-wah, (; born 23 May 1947) is a film director, producer, screenwriter and actress from Hong Kong who is one of the most critically acclaimed filmmakers of the Hong Kong New Wave. She is known for her films about social issues in Hon ...
(b. 1947),
Hong Kong New Wave
The Hong Kong New Wave is a film movement in Chinese-language Hong Kong cinema that emerged in the late 1970s and lasted into the early 2000s.
Origins of the movement
The Hong Kong New Wave started in 1979 with the release of numerous notable fil ...
film director
A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...
, born in Anshan. Hui's 2006 film ''
The Postmodern Life of My Aunt'' was partly set and filmed in Anshan.
chowofhongkong
*Guo Mingyi
Guo Mingyi (; born December 1958), is a Chinese philanthropist from Anshan, Liaoning. He became famous due to the large number of generous deeds which were popularised by the Chinese Communist Party as a role model along the line of the 'learn fro ...
(b. 1958), philanthropist who began work at Anshan Iron and Steel Group
*Chen Xiaoxu
Chen Xiaoxu (; October 29, 1965 – May 13, 2007), monastic name Miao Zhen () was a Chinese actress, famous for her role as Lin Daiyu in 1987 TV series ''Dream of the Red Chamber''. On February 23, 2007, she became a bhikkhuni (Buddhist nun) in Ba ...
(1965–2007), actress noted for playing Lin Daiyu
*Tang Xiao'ou
Tang Xiao’ou (; born 1968) is a Chinese billionaire, computer scientist and the founder of SenseTime, an artificial intelligence (AI) company. He is also a Professor of Information Engineering at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Biography ...
(b. 1968), computer scientist and co-founder of SenseTime
SenseTime () is a Hong Kong-headquartered artificial intelligence company with offices in China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. The compa ...
*Lei Jiayin
Lei Jiayin () is a Chinese actor. He is best known for his role as Chen Junsheng in drama ''The First Half of My Life''.
Lei ranked 62nd on ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 list in 2019, and 61st in 2020.
Early life
Lei Jiayin was born in Tiedon ...
(b. 1983), actor noted for playing Chen Junsheng in '' The First Half of My Life''
*Du Jing
Du Jing (; born 23 June 1984) is a former China, Chinese badminton player from Anshan, Liaoning.
Career
A doubles specialist, Du and her regular partner Yu Yang (badminton), Yu Yang have steadily emerged as one of the world's elite women's doub ...
(b. 1984), female badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...
player, former women's double champion
* Zhang Xiaofei (b. 1986), actress noted for her performance in '' Hi, Mom''
* Chen Tao (b. 1986), footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
, most recently played as midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
for Sichuan Longfor
*Zhang Wenzhao
Zhang Wenzhao (; ; born 28 March 1987) is a Chinese footballer.
Club career
Zhang Wenzhao started his football career after graduating from Shenzhen Kingway in 2006. His ability to play on the left flank saw him establish himself within the te ...
(b. 1987), footballer, most recently played as a midfielder for Beijing Renhe
*Li Jiahang
Li Jiahang (; born March 8, 1987) is a Chinese actor.
Life and career
Li Jiahang was born in Anshan, Liaoning. He graduated from Shanghai Theatre Academy in 2010. In ''New My Fair Princess'', he played the role of Fu Erkang. He then starred in ...
(b. 1987), actor noted for playing Fu Erkang in '' New My Fair Princess''.
* Li Man (b. 1988), actress noted for her role in Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou (; born 2 April 1950) is a Chinese film director, producer, writer, actor and former cinematographer.Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" i''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers'' Routledge Publishing, p. 412. . Google Book Search. Retriev ...
's'' Curse of the Golden Flower''.
*Li Xiaoxia
Li Xiaoxia (; born 16 January 1988) is a Chinese table tennis Grand Slam champion.
Career
She trained in the Jiangsu Wuxi Shanhe Club in Wuxi, China. Her trainer is Li Sun, who is also the mentor of Olympic gold medal winner Zhang Yining. As o ...
(b. 1988), female table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...
player, Grand Slam champion.
* Guo Yue, table tennis player, 2007 women's world champion.
* Ma Long (b. 1988), male table tennis player, former world-ranked number one.
*Wang Yanlin
Wang Yanlin (, born 28 July 1989), also known as Ian Wang, is a Chinese actor. He is best known for his works in '' Wu Xin: The Monster Killer'' (2015), ''The Starry Night, The Starry Sea'' (2017). He also starred in the film ''Operation Red S ...
(b. 1989), actor
* Beiwen Zhang (b. 1990), Chinese-born American badminton player
*Xu Mengtao
Xu Mengtao (; ; born 12 July 1990) is an Olympic Champion Chinese aerial skier. She has 27 World Cup victories and an Olympic Gold. She is also the current World Cup leader and became the first Chinese woman to win an Olympic gold in the Aer ...
(b. 1990), 2022 Olympic Champion aerial skier.
* Xu Minghao (stage name The8; b. 1997), member of popular K-pop
K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, gos ...
group Seventeen
Seventeen or 17 may refer to:
*17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18
* one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017
Literature
Magazines
* ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine
* ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...
, born in Anshan
See also
* List of twin towns and sister cities in China
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Cities in Liaoning
Prefecture-level divisions of Liaoning