Ji'an (; formerly ) is a

county-level city A county-level municipality (), county-level city or county city, formerly known as prefecture-controlled city (1949–1970: ; 1970–1983: ), is a county-level administrative division of the People's Republic of China. County-level ...

in the southwestern part 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 ...

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

Tonghua Tonghua () is a prefecture-level city in the south of Jilin province, People's Republic of China. It borders North Korea's Chagang Province to the south and southeast, Baishan to the east, Jilin City to the north, Liaoyuan to the northwest, and ...

and is the southernmost

county-level division The administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since ancient times, due to China's large population and geographical area. The constitution of China provides for three levels of government. However in practice, there ...

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 Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

by the

Yalu River The Yalu River, known by Koreans as the Amrok River or Amnok River, is a river on the border between North Korea and China. Together with the Tumen River to its east, and a small portion of Paektu Mountain, the Yalu forms the border between ...

; it has an international border running .

History

Archaeological excavations in the Ji'an area have unearthed several

Yemaek Yemaek or Yamaek () was an ancient tribal group in the northern Korean Peninsula and Manchuria who are regarded by some scholars as the ancestors of modern Koreans. They had ancestral ties to various Korean kingdoms including Gojoseon, Buyeo, Go ...

sites along the

Amnok River The Yalu River, known by Koreans as the Amrok River or Amnok River, is a river on the border between North Korea and China. Together with the Tumen River to its east, and a small portion of Paektu Mountain, the Yalu forms the border between ...

and its tributary the

Hunjiang Hunjiang may refer to: * Hunjiang City, former name of Baishan, Jilin, China *Hunjiang District, in Baishan, Jilin, China *The Hun River, tributary of the Yalu River The Yalu River, known by Koreans as the Amrok River or Amnok River, is a r ...

, which belong to the regional

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

and Bronze ages. After the fall of

Wiman Joseon Wiman Joseon (194–108 BC) was a dynasty of Gojoseon. It began with Wiman's (Wei Man) seizure of the throne from Gija Joseon's King Jun and ended with the death of King Ugeo who was a grandson of Wiman. Apart from archaeological data, the ...

to the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

in 108

BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...

, Ji'an was part of

Goguryeo County Gaogouli County (高句驪縣; Goguryeo County or Koguryo County in Korean) was a county under the administration of Xuantu Commandery located in southern Manchuria and the northern Korean peninsula.Barnes, Gina L. ''"State Formation in Korea"'', ...

under the administration of Xuantu Commandery. In 3 CE, the second ruler of

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled mos ...

King Yuri King Yuri (38 BCE – 18 CE, r. 19 BCE – 18 CE) was the second ruler of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was the eldest son of the kingdom's founder Chumo the Holy. As with many other early Korean rulers, the e ...

, moved the state's capital to

Gungnae Gungnae (Korean) or Guonei (Mandarin) City was the capital of the ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo, which was located in Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula. The perimeter of its outer fortress measures 2,686m. It is located in present day Ji'an ...

(modern Ji'an) and established the mountain fortress

Hwando Hwando () is a mountain fortress of the ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo, built to protect Goguryeo's second capital, Gungnae. It is located in present-day Ji'an city of the province of Jilin, China. The fortress is located 2.5 km west of Ji'an ...

nearby to defend it. Hwando was sacked by Wei State in 244 CE during the

Goguryeo–Wei War The Goguryeo–Wei War was a series of invasions of Goguryeo from 244 to 245 launched by Cao Wei. The invasions, a retaliation against a Goguryeo raid in 242, destroyed the Goguryeo capital of Hwando, sent its king fleeing, and broke the tributar ...

. 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 and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...

, 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 Huanren Manchu Autonomous County (, Manchu: ; Mölendroff: huwanren manju beye dasangga siyan), formerly Huairen County (), is a county under the administration of Benxi City, in eastern Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, bordering Jil ...

, Liaoning, have been listed as part of a UNESCO

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

. Ji'an is also dubbed as a "Little

Jiangnan Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...

" 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 atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...

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

''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:Corner of Gungnae Fortress (GuoNei Fortress).JPG, Ruins of Gungnae city wall File:Hwando Mountain Fortress Guard Tower.JPG, Remains of a guard tower in Hwando File:View of ShanChengXia Nobility Cemetery.JPG,

tombs near Hwando

Administrative divisions

Subdistricts: * Tuanjie Subdistrict (), Liming Subdistrict (), Chengdong Subdistrict (), Tongsheng Subdistrict () Towns: * Qingshi (), Qinghe (), Toudao (), Huadian (), Yulin (), Taishang (), Caiyuan (), Yangcha (), Dalu (), Renao () Townships: *

Taiwang Township Taiwang () may refer to: *Taiwang, Jilin, a town in Ji'an, Jilin, China *King Tai of Zhou or Taiwang of Zhou ( 12th century BC?), a leader of predynastic Zhou See also

*Taiwan *Taewang, Korean equivalent of "Taiwang" {{disambiguation ...

(), Maxian Township (), Huangbai Township (), Taiping Township (), Tonggou Township (), Shuangcha Township (), Guoshuchang Township (), Liangshui Korean Ethnic Township ()

References

External links

Ji'an Government
{{Authority control Cities in Jilin China–North Korea border crossings