Understand
Liaoning consists of wooded mountains in the north east and west, the vast Liaoning Plain at its heart, and the West Liaoning Corridor - narrow strip of land along the Bohai Sea. The highlands in the west are dominated by the Nulu'erhu Mountains, which roughly follow the border between Liaoning and Inner Mongolia. The entire region is dominated by low hills. The West Liaoning Corridor follows the coast between the Nulu'erhu Mountains and the Bohai Sea. The Liaoning Plain consists of the watersheds of rivers such as the Liao, Daliao, and their tributaries. This region is mostly flat and at low altitudes. The eastern part of Liaoning is dominated by the Changbai Shan and Qian Shan ranges, which extends into the sea to form the Liaodong Peninsula. The highest point in Liaoning, Mount Huabozi 1336 m, is found in this region. Liaoning has a continental monsoon climate, and rainfall averages to about 440 to 1130 mm annually. Summer is rainy while the other seasons are dry.
Liaoning has an ancient history. The area was the centre of the Liao Dynasty kingdom è¾½æ Liáo Cháo or otherwise known as the Khitan Empire å¥ä¸¹å from 907-1125 AD. The Liao dynasty was taken over by the Jurchen people to form the Jin Dynasty 1115â1234 which covered all of northern china before it's self being overrun by the Mongol empire of the Yuan Dynasty.
During the Ming Dynasty, the Jurchen people became divided into clans or tribes. Liaoning came under the Ming Chinese sphere of control. One of the tribal leaders, Nurhaci 1559-1626, broke form the Ming Empire and, uniting the dispirit Jurchen tribes, founded the Manchu ethnic group and the Later Jin Dynasty that would be known as Manchuria. Liaoning was the cradle form which the Manchu went on to conquer first the Mongols and the Ming China itself to start the Qing Dynasty. The three capitals of the Later Jin, , Liaoyang and Shenyang are within Liaoning. Shenyang maintained special status throughout the Qing Dynasty as a secondary capital complete with it's own Forbidden City.
The early twentieth century saw the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in China. Liaoning became the centre piece in a struggle between China, Russia and Japan. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, many key battles took place in Liaoning. The 9-18 incident that started the first Sino-Japanese war occurred in 1932 in Shenyang. Liaoning quickly fell into Japanese hands along with much of north east China. The Japanese founded the puppet state of Manchuko which included Liaoning. It was during the Russian and Japanese occupations that the area was first developed for modern industry.
With the founding of the People's Republic of China, Liaoning became a centre of heavy industrial development. Coal, iron, oil and steel are produced here in large quantities. Many cities in the area developed a reputation dirt and pollution. A reputation they are now trying to shake off.
Liaoning is also famed for its food. Liao Cuisine is well known throughout China. This cooking style is typically strong in flavour and heavily spiced but not hot. Chinese dumplings and noodles form the staple foods of the area though modern cultivation makes this area suitable for modern rice production. Central Liaoning's wide flat plains made it well suited to modern farming methods so Liaoning was one of the few areas of China where collectivisation works and the province was often cited as an example for the rest of the country to follow. The communist national hero, Lei Feng, hailed from Fushun city in Liaoning.
