Yanbian (;
Chosŏn'gŭl
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's Revised Romanization of Korean, standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system f ...
: , ''Yeonbyeon''), officially known as the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, is an
autonomous prefecture
Autonomous prefectures () are one type of autonomous administrative divisions of China, existing at the prefectural level, with either ethnic minorities forming over 50% of the population or being the historic home of significant minorities. A ...
in the east of
Jilin 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 exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Yanbian is bordered to the north by
Heilongjiang Province, on the west by Jilin's
Baishan City and
Jilin City, on the south by
North Korea's
North Hamgyong Province
North Hamgyong Province (Hamgyŏngbukdo, ) is the northernmost province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Hamgyong Province.
Geography
The province is bordered by China (Jilin) on the north, S ...
and on the east by
Primorsky Krai in
Russia. Yanbian is designated as a Korean autonomous prefecture due to the large number of
ethnic Koreans
The Korean diaspora (South Korea: or , North Korea: or ) consists of around 7.3 million people, both descendants of early emigrants from the Korean Peninsula, as well as more recent emigres from Korea. Around 84.5% of overseas Koreans live in ...
living in the region. The prefectural capital is
Yanji and the total area is .
The prefecture has an important
Balhae archaeological site: the
Ancient Tombs at Longtou Mountain, which includes the
Mausoleum of Princess Jeonghyo
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...
.
History
In the
Ming dynasty, Yanbian was governed by the Jianzhou Guard () and in the late
Qing dynasty the area was divided into the Yanji () and Hunchun ()
subprefectures. From 1644 to the 1800s the
Manchurian administrators of the Qing state attempted to separate Northeast China, politically and ethnographically, into a "Manchuria" to which they could retreat in case an ethnically
Han Chinese dynasty regained control over China. However, this effort failed because of the trading and agricultural opportunities available to Han Chinese migrants in the northeast region which made it profitable to evade the rules, as well as later Qing relaxation of the same rules to discourage
Russian encroachment.
In the late 19th century, Korean immigrants migrated en masse from the
Korean Peninsula to China. After the foundation of the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
, a second wave arrived. Of the 2 million ethnic Koreans in Manchuria at the time of the communist takeover, 1.2 million remained in the region after the end of
World War II. Many participated in the
Chinese Civil War, most on the side of the Chinese communists. When the civil war was over, the new Chinese government gave these Koreans their own autonomous region () in 1952. Yanbian was upgraded to an ethnic autonomous prefecture in 1955.
Korean (
Joseon
Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...
) migration into
Northeast China began in significant numbers in the last quarter of the 19th century and was mainly motivated by economic hardship on the Korean side of the border. After the Japanese annexed Korea in 1910, a small but significant number of migrants also came to Manchuria for political reasons.
In 1952, the Korean migrants comprised some 60% of the local population, but by 2000 that was down to 32%. The Chinese authorities subsidize Korean language schools and publications, but also take measures to prevent an emergence of Korean
irredentism in the area. From the late 1990s, the Koreans have assimilated into mainstream Chinese culture with increasing speed, often switching to daily use of Chinese and choosing to attend Chinese-language schools.
Geography
*
Geographic coordinates: 41° 59' 47" – 44° 30' 42" N, 127° 27' 43" – 131° 18' 33" E
* Total border length:
** With North Korea:
** With Russia:
Mountains that are in the prefecture are:
*
Changbai Mountains (central range)
*
Zhangguangcai Range
Zhangguangcai Range or Zhangguangcai Ling (), also known as Zhangguangcai Ridge or Zhangguang Cailing, is a mountain range located in the central part of the northern section of the mountains in Northeastern China, mostly in the territory of Heil ...
* Harba Peak ()
* Peony Peak ()
* Old Master Peak ()
* Nangang Mountain Range ()
There have been over 40 types of
minerals and 50 kinds of metals – including
gold,
lead,
zinc,
copper,
silver,
manganese and
mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
– discovered near or in the mountains.
The average land height is 500 metres above
sea level.
Main rivers include:
*
Songhua River
*
Mudan River (Peony River)
*
Tumen River
**
Gaya River
The Gaya River () is a tributary of the Tumen River in east Jilin province of China. The source of river is located in Wangqing County and flows generally from north to south and joins Tumen River at Tumen City
Tumen (; Chosŏn'gŭl: 도문; H ...
(branch of the Tumen)
**
Hunchun River
The rivers sustain 28 running water processing facilities. They created basins, which are suitable for agricultural uses, like
rice paddies and
bean
A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...
farms.
Administration
The prefecture is subdivided into eight
county-level divisions: six
county-level cities and two
counties:
The above counties and cities are divided into 642 villages ().
Transportation
Railways include:
* Chang-Tu Line ()
* Mu-Tu Line ()
* Chao-Kai Line ()
* Yangchuan-Shantun Line ()
* Tumen-Hunchun Railway: under construction
There are of public roads altogether. There are four airports.
Demographics
Ethnic composition:
*2,271,600 (2010)
**64.55%
Han Chinese
**32.45%
Korean
**2.52%
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 ...
**0.28%
Hui
**0.13%
Mongols
*Growth rate 0.4%.
Population density: .
As on the Korean peninsula, the most common
surname
In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community.
Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...
among Yanbian Koreans is ''Kim'' (''Jin'' [] in Chinese). Many emigrated from Korea during the 19th century and again during the Korea under Japanese rule, Japanese occupation.
Between 1952 and 2002, the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture had among the highest rates of urbanization () at 55.6%, 20 percentage points greater than the provincial average (31.3%) and 25 more than the national average (26.5%).
Education
Colleges and universities:
*
Yanbian University, which uses both Chinese and Korean as instruction mediums.
*
Yanbian University of Science and Technology
The Yanbian University of Science and Technology (YUST; , ), is a research university in the city of Yanji, Jilin, China.
YUST is the first Korean Chinese joint-venture university in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture and first intern ...
International schools:
*
Yanbian International Academy
Yanbian International Academy (YIA; 延边外国人学校 "Yanbian Foreigners' School") is a K-12 international school in Yanji, Yanbian, China. It is a part of the Yanbian University of Science and Technology.[Korean International School in Yanbian
Korean International School in Yanbian (KISY; Korean: 연변한국국제학교; ) is a Korean international school in Yanji, Yanbian, Jilin, China. It serves students in elementary school through high school.
It was established on December 1, 1997 ...]
Culture
Both
Mandarin Chinese and
Korean are used as official languages in Yanbian.
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.
Tourism
There are seven public parks in Yanbian's green space (18% of whole prefecture), including:
*Yanji People's Park ()
*Youth Lake Park ()
Also popular among locals during holidays and festivities.
*
Baekdusan
Nature and environment
Over 70% are originally forest in the prefecture, so there is a rich diversity of life.
* 1,460
species of native
animals
* 250 species of native
plants.
Sports
Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture is an important region for
Chinese football. Over 50 years, more than 40 footballers have been selected by the
Chinese national football team.
The first professional football team in this prefecture is
Jilin Three Stars Football Club. From 1994 to 2000, this club had played each year in the top Chinese football league. In 2000, they were relegated from the top league. Because of poor economic conditions the club was sold to
Lucheng Group Lucheng may refer to the following locations in China:
;Districts
*Lucheng District, Changzhi (), Shanxi
*Lucheng District, Wenzhou (), Zhejiang
;Subdistricts
*Lucheng, Kangding (), seat of Kangding County, Sichuan
* Lucheng Subdistrict, Yidu (), ...
in
Zhejiang Province
Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiangs ...
.
The
Yanbian Football Club plays in the 32,000-seater
Hailanjiang Stadium Hailanjiang Stadium (Simplified Chinese: 海兰江体育场, Korean: 해란강체육장) is a multi-use stadium in Longjing, Yanbian, Jilin province, China. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 32,000 people.
See a ...
in the
Chinese Super League, the top tier of the Chinese football league system.
In 2016,
Yanbian Football Club was sponsored by Shenzhen Funde Group ( zh, 富德集团) when they got the permission of Chinese Super League, since they acquired the 1st place in the Chinese Second League in 2015.
See also
*
Changbai Korean Autonomous County
References
Works cited
*
Further reading
*
External links
Official government website
Official government Tourism websiteYanbian Office in Korea
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
{{Authority control
Prefecture-level divisions of Jilin
Autonomous prefectures of the People's Republic of China
Koreans in China
Korean-speaking countries and territories