Ji'an (; formerly ) is a

county-level city A county-level city () is a County-level divisions of China, county-level administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China. County-level cities have judiciary, judicial but no legislature, legislative rights over their own local or ...

in the southwestern part of

Jilin ) , image_skyline = Changbaishan Tianchi from western rim.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = View of Heaven Lake , image_map = Jilin in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_al ...

province, People's Republic of China. It is administered by the prefecture-level city of Tonghua and is the southernmost

county-level division The administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since 1412, due to mainland China's large population and geographical area. In the People's Republic of China, the constitution provides for three levels of government. Ho ...

in the province. Ji'an has an area of and a population of approximately 230,000. The city was given its current status in 1988. Ji'an is separated from Manpo, Chagang Province,

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

by the Yalu River; it has an international border running .

History

Archaeological excavations in the Ji'an area have unearthed several Yemaek sites along the Amnok River and its tributary the Hunjiang, which belong to the regional

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

and

Bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

ages. After the fall of Wiman Joseon to the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

in 108 BCE, Ji'an was part of Goguryeo County under the administration of Xuantu Commandery. In 3 CE, the second ruler of

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...

, King Yuri, moved the state's capital to Gungnae (modern Ji'an) and established the mountain fortress Hwando nearby to defend it. Hwando was sacked by Wei State in 244 CE during the Goguryeo–Wei War. In 342 CE, Hwando was destroyed and thousands of people captured by the Murong Xianbei, after which Goguryeo focussed on expanding south and east. In 427 CE, the eleventh ruler of Goguryeo, King Jangsu, moved the capital to

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

, which saw Gungnae relegated to subsidiary capital status. The Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom, located in Ji'an and Huanren Manchu Autonomous County, Liaoning, have been listed as part of a UNESCO

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. Ji'an is also dubbed as a "Little Jiangnan" of Jilin due to its scenery.

Geography and climate

Ji'an 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 Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

-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 cold ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dwa''), with long, very cold winters, and very warm, humid summers. Monthly average temperatures range from in January to in July, and the annual mean is . Though the annual total, at , is generous, precipitation is quite low during the winter and upwards of 60% of annual rainfall occurs from June through August. The frost-free period lasts around 150 days.

Gallery

File:West Gate of Gungnae Fortress 3.jpg, Ruins of Gungnae city wall File:Lookout Tower, Hwando Mountain Fortress 1.jpg, Remains of a guard tower in Hwando File:Overlooking noble tombs 3.jpg,

tombs near Hwando

Administrative divisions

Subdistricts: * Tuanjie Subdistrict (), Liming Subdistrict (), Tongsheng Subdistrict () Towns: * Qingshi (), Qinghe (), Toudao (), Huadian (), Yulin (), Taishang (), Caiyuan (), Dalu (), Taiwang () Townships: * Maxian Township ()

References

External links

Ji'an Government
{{Authority control Cities in Jilin China–North Korea border crossings National Civilized City National Famous Historical and Cultural City