Siping (), formerly Ssupingkai (), is a

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 the west 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. Located in the middle of the

Songliao Plain The Northeast China Plain (), commonly known as Song liao Plain or the Manchurian Plain or just the Northeast Plain, is located in Northeast China, historically also known as Manchuria. It lies between the Greater and Lesser Khingan and Chang ...

and at the intersection of Jilin, Liaoning and

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 ...

, Siping covers an area of . At the 2020 census, Siping has a total population of 1,814,733 inhabitants of whom 627,957 lived in 2 urban districts.

History

Siping's history can be stretched to 3000 years ago during

Shang Dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...

. The Kingdom of Yan Ruins indicate that the

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctiv ...

People started moving into Northeast region of China during the Spring and Autumn period. Ancient ethnic tribes such as the Fuyu, the

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 ...

, the

Khitans The Khitan people (Khitan small script: ; ) were a historical nomadic people from Northeast Asia who, from the 4th century, inhabited an area corresponding to parts of modern Mongolia, Northeast China and the Russian Far East. As a people desce ...

, the Jurchen, the

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...

, the

Manchus 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 ...

, and

Koreans Koreans ( South Korean: , , North Korean: , ; see names of Korea) are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula. Koreans mainly live in the two Korean nation states: North Korea and South Korea (collectively and simply re ...

have left behind cultural artifacts, including Hanzhou, Xinzhou, and the Yehe Tribe Cultural Artifacts. Yehe Town in Siping is also the hometown of two empresses 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-spea ...

Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; mnc, Tsysi taiheo; formerly romanised as Empress Dowager T'zu-hsi; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), of the Manchu Yehe Nara clan, was a Chinese noblewoman, concubine and later regent who effectively controlled ...

and

Empress Dowager Longyu Jingfen (; 28 January 1868 – 22 February 1913), of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Yehe Nara clan, was the wife and empress consort of Zaitian, the Guangxu Emperor. She was Empress consort of Qing from 1889 until her husband's death in ...

. However, Siping was a place of little importance until the completion of the railway between Changchun and the port of Dalian in 1902. With a rapidly growing population, Siping became a regional commercial center. After 1907, Siping's economy experienced steady growth under the administration of the

South Manchuria Railway The South Manchuria Railway ( ja, 南満州鉄道, translit=Minamimanshū Tetsudō; ), officially , Mantetsu ( ja, 満鉄, translit=Mantetsu) or Mantie () for short, was a large of the Empire of Japan whose primary function was the operatio ...

Company. The construction of a railway linked to

Baicheng Baicheng () is a prefecture-level city in the northwestern part of Jilin province, People's Republic of China, bordering Inner Mongolia to the north and west and Heilongjiang to the east and northeast. At the 2010 census, 2,033,058 people l ...

in northwestern Jilin Province was completed in 1923, while a railway running south to

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 to

Korean Peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

was built in 1939. A new town was built after 1921, going by the name Ssupingkai. After 1932, under the

Japanese invasion of Manchuria The Empire of Japan's Kwantung Army invaded Manchuria on 18 September 1931, immediately following the Mukden Incident. At the war's end in February 1932, the Japanese established the puppet state of Manchukuo. Their occupation lasted until the ...

, some agriculture-based industry including brewing, oil pressing and flour milling grew up. In the latter part of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the Japanese completed a project in the construction of a refinery for the production of synthetic petroleum from coal. Battle of Siping02

Siping was the site of several major battles during the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

between the Chinese Communist and Nationalist forces from 1945 to 1949. After the war, Siping was virtually destroyed. *

Battle of Siping The Battle of Siping (四平战斗), also known as the Battle to Liberate Siping (四平解放战), was a battle fought between the Communist forces and the Nationalist forces in Jilin, China for the control of Siping during the Chinese Civil Wa ...

March 15, 1946−March 17, 1946 *

Campaign to Defend Siping The Campaign to Defend Siping (四平保卫战) was a struggle between the Nationalists and the communists for the control of Siping during the Chinese Civil War in the post World War II era. This campaign was characterized by the fact that th ...

April 17, 1946−May 19, 1946 * Siping Campaign June 11, 1947−March 13, 1948 Siping grew rapidly after the Communist government was established in 1949, being the third largest city in Jilin Province.

Geography and climate

Siping is located in the transition between plains and hilly terrain, with hills to the southeast and the

to the northwest. The city has a four-season, monsoon-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''). Winters are long (lasting from November to March), cold, and windy, but dry, due to the influence of the Siberian anticyclone, with a January mean temperature of . Spring and fall are somewhat short transitional periods, with some precipitation, but are usually dry and windy. Summers are hot and humid, with a prevailing southeasterly wind due to the East Asian monsoon; July averages . Snow is usually light during the winter, and annual rainfall is heavily concentrated from June to August. The annual mean temperature is . With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 46% in July to 71% in January and February, there are 2,684 hours of bright sunshine annually, with autumn and winter being especially sunny.

Administrative divisions

Siping prefecture includes two districts, two counties and two county-level cities. Four commodity grain bases in Jinlin Province, namely Lishu County, Yitong Manchu Autonomous County, and Shuangliao City, are under the administration of Siping.Gongzhuling City is under the administration of Jilin Province.

Economy

Siping has GDP of RMB 1266.3 billion Yuan in 2015, representing a rise of 6.4% year on year. The city's GDP ranked fourth in Jilin Province(2010). Agricultural products processing, electricity and thermal power, pharmaceutical, and chemicals are the pillar industries. Private economy is also a major contributor of the industrial sector.

Transport

Siping is a transportation hub in Jilin Province. The

Qiqihar Qiqihar () is the second-largest city in the Heilongjiang province of China, in the west central part of the province. The built-up (or metro) area made up of Longsha, Tiefeng and Jianhua districts had 959,787 inhabitants, while the total populat ...

-Siping, Siping-Meihekou and Beijing–Harbin railways The city is served by both the Siping Railway Station and Siping East Railway Station .The Harbin-Beijing Highspeed Railway also run through the Siping East Railway Station.The new airport will be completed in 2030. With the Highway, the city run through Beijing-Harbin highway, JiTong highway, Daqiang-Guangzhou Highway, Changchun-Shenzhen Expressway, ChangYing highway, TieChao highway (Beijing-Siping highway), Yi Liao Expressway and Changchun-Liaoyuan highway. The city of Siping also has a ring first grade highway, which is connected to the 102 National Road and 303 National Road in the four directions. Siping is 550 kilometers away from Dalian international shipping center. It is only 1 hours away from Changchun Longjia Airport and Shenyang Taoxian International Airport. The Siping local dual-use airport is about to open domestic flights.

Notable people

Jia Hongsheng Jia Hongsheng (; 19 March 1967 – 5 July 2010) was a Chinese actor who became known in the late 1980s and early 1990s for roles in movies like ''The Case of the Silver Snake'' (1988), ''Good Morning, Beijing'' (1991), ''A Woman from North Shaan ...

(1967−2010), actor *

John Derbyshire John Derbyshire (born 3 June 1945) is a British-born American far-right political commentator, writer, journalist and computer programmer. He was once known as a paleoconservative, until he was fired from the '' National Review'' in 2012 for ...

, American writer, lived in Siping 1982−3. The city is mentioned in his 1996 novel '' Seeing Calvin Coolidge in a Dream'', Chapter 9, the city's name translated there as "Fourfold Peace."

Sister cities

Makhachkala Makhachkala ( rus, Махачкала, , məxətɕkɐˈla, links=yes),; av, Махӏачхъала, Maħaçqala; ce, ХӀинжа-ГӀала, Hinƶa-Ġala; az, Маһачгала, Mahaçqala; nog, Махачкала; lbe, Махачкъала; ...

, Dagestan, Russia * Tecate,

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, Mexico

References

External links

Siping City Website
{{Authority control Cities in Jilin Prefecture-level divisions of Jilin