The

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 ...

Military Region Military districts (also called military regions) are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army) which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and ...

was one of seven military regions for the Chinese

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, ...

. It has command and control of military and armed police forces in the three northeast 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 ...

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 ...

, and Liaoning, which also form Military Districts. This region is now superseded by the

Northern Theater Command The Northern Theater Command (is) one of the five theater commands of the People's Liberation Army, founded on 1 February 2016. Its predecessor is the Shenyang Military Region and Beijing Military Region. Its headquarters is in the Heping D ...

. The Shenyang Military Region was left with unchanged boundaries since the late 1960s. It is bordered internally by the

Beijing Military Region The Beijing Military Region was one of seven military regions for the Chinese People's Liberation Army. From the mid 1980s to 2017, it had administration of all military affairs within Beijing city, Tianjin city, Hebei province, Shanxi province, ...

to the west. Externally, it is bordered by

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 shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

to the south east and the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...

to the north. Prior to the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

, military region commanders tended to remain in post for long periods. As the PLA took a stronger role in politics, this began to be seen as something of a threat to party (or, at least, civilian) control of the military. Two commanders served for long periods in the Shenyang MR,

Chen Xilian Chen Xilian (pronounced ; 4 January 1915 – 10 June 1999) was a Chinese military officer and politician, general of the People's Liberation Army. A prominent Mao Zedong, Maoist, he held very important positions in both military and political sph ...

, from 1959–73, and

Li Desheng Li Desheng (; 4 May 1916 – 8 May 2011) was a general in the Chinese People's Liberation Army. He was born in Xin County, Henan, China, an area now known as the "Cradle of Generals" for the large number of senior military officers born in the ...

from 1974-85. As of 15 March 1967, the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

identified eight armies in the Shenyang MR. The CIA identified the 16th Army, 23rd Army, the 38th, 39th Army, 40th Army, 46th, 50th, and 64th Armies. However the 38th Army is now assigned to the Beijing Military Region. The Shenyang Region adjoins the Russian

Far East Military District The Far Eastern Military District (russian: Дальневосточный военный округ; Dalʹnevostochnyĭ voennyĭ okrug) was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Pacific ...

, which numbered some 76,000 personnel in 2007, and is now the Eastern Military District. However, there is a military limitation treaty and information disclosure agreement in place between the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and the

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 ...

. Analysts suggest that it is the second most important military region next to the

Air and ground forces

The

International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a British research institute or think tank in the area of international affairs. Since 1997, its headquarters have been Arundel House in London, England. The 2017 Global Go To Think ...

listed the formation in 2006 with an estimated 250,000 personnel, three group armies, and two armoured, one mechanised, four motorised, and one artillery division. It also lists two armoured, five motorised, three artillery, four anti-aircraft and one anti-tank brigades as part of the region. Known formations and units in 2006 included the 16th Group Army, headquartered at Changchun, with a motorised infantry division, motorised infantry brigade, the 4th Armoured Division (

Meihekou Meihekou () is a city of 600,000 in Jilin province, People's Republic of China. It is a regional transport hub, connecting three railway lines, all of which are single track, and 2 national highways. The city is also a major lorry transshipment po ...

, Jilin) and artillery and anti-aircraft brigades, and the 39th Group Army in Liaoning, and the 40th Group Army headquartered at

Jinzhou Jinzhou (, ), formerly Chinchow, is a coastal prefecture-level city in central-west Liaoning province, China. It is a geographically strategic city located in the Liaoxi Corridor, which connects most of the land transports between North Chin ...

, Liaoning. The 23rd Group Army was disbanded during the reductions which began in 2003. In Korea in the 1950s, the 23rd Army had included the 67th, 69th, and 73rd Divisions. Two units directly subordinate to the MR headquarters were the 68th Motorized Infantry Brigade, Qiqihar, Heilongjiang (from 23rd Group Army), and the 69th Motorized Infantry Division, Harbin, Heilongjiang (from 23rd Group Army). The Shenyang Military Region Air Force was created in 1955, and the Shenyang MR Air Defence Force was merged into it in 1957. The 1st Air Corps and the Dalian Base (formerly the 3rd Air Corps) were both active within the region in 2001-02. The IISS ''Military Balance 2011'' listed the 1st Fighter, 11th, 21st Fighter, and 30th Fighter Divisions active in the region as of November 2010 (p. 234). Scramble.nl writes that 30 September 1992 22nd Division merged with 11th Division, and in 1998 39th Fighter Division was merged into 21st Fighter Division.

List of commanders

* Deng Hua *

* Liu Jingsong * Wang Ke * Li Xinliang *

Liang Guanglie Liang Guanglie (, also spelled as Liang Kuang-lieh; born December 1940 in Santai, Mianyang, Sichuan) is a retired general and former Minister for National Defense in the People's Republic of China. Life and career Liang joined the army in ...

, 1997−99 * Qian Guoliang, 1999−2004 *

Chang Wanquan Chang Wanquan (; born January 1949) is the former Minister of Defense and State Councilor of the People's Republic of China and a general in the People's Liberation Army. He has been a member of the Central Military Commission of the People's Re ...

, 2004−07 *

Zhang Youxia Zhang Youxia (; born July 1950) is a general in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China and currently the second-ranked Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Central Military Commission (CMC). He previously served as Head ...

, 2007−12 * Wang Jiaocheng, 2012−present

Nickname

Organizations affiliated with the Shenyang Military Region often use the nickname "forward" (), including the Forward Performance Troupe () and the Forward Newspaper ().

References

Citations

Sources

* Chapter 8, PLA Ground Forces, by Dennis J Blasko, in The People's Liberation Army as Organisation, RAND, CF182. * xvii, 228 pp. Paperback, $34.95. Hardcover $125.00, .

External links

* www.sinodefence.com {{coord missing, China Military regions of the People's Liberation Army Military units and formations disestablished in 2016