Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture

"Yanbian" redirects here. For the county in Sichuan, see Yanbian County. For the county in North Korea with a similar-sounding name, see Nyongbyon County. For other uses, see Yanbian (disambiguation).

Yanbian Prefecture 延(연)边(변)州(주) Yen-pien
Autonomous prefecture
Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture 연변 조선족 자치주 延边朝鲜族自治州
Yanji, the prefectural seat of Yanbian
Location of Yanbian Prefecture (red) in Jilin Province (orange) and Mainland China (yellow)
Coordinates: 43°08′N 129°11′E
Country	China
Province	Jilin
County-level divisions	6 county-level cities 2 counties
Prefectural seat	Yanji
Government
• Party Secretary	Jiang Zhiying
• Governor	Jin Shouhao
Area
• Total	43,509 km2 (16,799 sq mi)
Population  (2010)
• Total	2,271,600
• Density	52/km2 (140/sq mi)
• Ethnic composition	64.55% Han 32.45% Korean 2.52% Manchu 0.28% Hui 0.13% Mongol
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard)
Area code	+86 433
ISO 3166 code	CN-JL-24
Licence plate prefixes	吉H
Website	www.yanbian.gov.cn

Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture
"Yanbian" written in Simplified Chinese characters as 延边(Yánbiān) and in the Korean alphabet as 연변(Yeonbyeon)
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	延边朝鲜族自治州
Traditional Chinese	延邊朝鮮族自治州
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Yánbiān Cháoxiǎnzú Zìzhìzhōu Yue: Cantonese Jyutping jin4bin1 ziu4sin1zuk6 zi6zi6zau1
Chinese Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl	연변 조선족 자치주
Transcriptions Revised Romanization Yeonbyeon Joseonjok Jachiju McCune–Reischauer Yŏnbyŏn Chosŏnjok Chach'iju
Russian name
Russian	Яньбянь

Yanbian (simplified Chinese: 延边; traditional Chinese: 延邊; pinyin: Yánbiān; Chosŏn'gŭl: 연변, Yeonbyeon), officially known as the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, is an autonomous prefecture in the east of Jilin Province, China. 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 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 living in the region. The prefectural capital is Yanji and the total area is 42,700 square kilometres (16,500 sq mi).

The prefecture has an important Balhae archaeological site: the Ancient Tombs at Longtou Mountain, which includes the Mausoleum of Princess Jeonghyo.

History

In the Ming dynasty, Yanbian was governed by the Jianzhou Guard (建州衛) and in the late Qing dynasty the area was divided into the Yanji (延吉廳) and Hunchun (琿春廳) 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, 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 (区) in 1952. Yanbian was upgraded to an ethnic autonomous prefecture in 1955.

Korean (Joseon) 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: 755.2 kilometres (469.3 mi)
  • With North Korea: 522.5 kilometres (324.7 mi)
  • With Russia: 232.7 kilometres (144.6 mi)

Mountains that are in the prefecture are:

• Changbai Mountains (central range)
• Zhangguangcai Range
• Harba Peak (哈尔巴岭)
• Peony Peak (牡丹领)
• Old Master Peak (老爷岭)
• Nangang Mountain Range (南岗山脉)

There have been over 40 types of minerals and 50 kinds of metals – including gold, lead, zinc, copper, silver, manganese and mercury – 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 (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 farms.

Administration

The prefecture is subdivided into eight county-level divisions: six county-level cities and two counties:

Map
Yanji (city) Tumen (city) Dunhua (city) Hunchun (city) Longjing (city) Helong (city) Wangqing County Antu County
Name	Chinese (S)	Hanyu Pinyin	Chinese Korean transliteration			Population (2003 est.)	Area (km2)	Density (/km2)
			Joseongeul	Revised	McCune
Yanji City	延吉市	Yánjí Shì	연길시	Yeongil-si	Yŏngil-si	410,000	1,332	308
Tumen City	图们市	Túmén Shì	도문시	Domun-si	Tomun-si	130,000	1,142	114
Dunhua City	敦化市	Dūnhuà Shì	돈화시	Donhwa-si	Tonhwa-si	480,000	11,963	40
Hunchun City	珲春市	Húnchūn Shì	혼춘시	Hunchun-si	Hunch’un-si	220,000	4,938	45
Longjing City	龙井市	Lóngjǐng Shì	룡정시	Ryongjeong-si	Ryongjŏng-si	250,000	2,592	96
Helong City	和龙市	Hélóng Shì	화룡시	Hwaryong-si	Hwaryong-si	210,000	5,069	41
Wangqing County	汪清县	Wāngqīng Xiàn	왕청현	Wangcheong-hyeon	Wangch’ŏng-hyŏn	250,000	8,994	28
Antu County	安图县	Āntú Xiàn	안도현	Ando-hyeon	Ando-hyŏn	210,000	7,444	28

The above counties and cities are divided into 642 villages (边境村).

Transportation

Railways include:

• Chang-Tu Line (长图线)
• Mu-Tu Line (牡图线)
• Chao-Kai Line (朝开线)
• Yangchuan-Shantun Line (阳川山屯线)
• Tumen-Hunchun Railway: under construction

There are 1,480 km (920 mi) 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
  • 0.28% Hui
  • 0.13% Mongols
• Growth rate 0.4%.

Population density: 51 inhabitants per square kilometer (130 inhabitants per square mile).

As on the Korean peninsula, the most common surname among Yanbian Koreans is Kim (Jin [金] in Chinese). Many emigrated from Korea during the 19th century and again during the Japanese occupation.

Between 1952 and 2002, the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture had among the highest rates of urbanization (城市化率) 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

International schools:

• Yanbian International Academy
• Korean International School in Yanbian

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 (延吉人民公园)
• Youth Lake Park (青年湖公园)

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 in Zhejiang Province.

The Yanbian Football Club plays in the 32,000-seater Hailanjiang Stadium 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 (Chinese: 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

Works cited

• 延边朝鲜族自治州概编写组编写 (June 2009). 延边朝鲜族自治州概况 [Overview of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture] (in Chinese). Beijing: Publishing House of Minority Nationalities. ISBN 978-7-105-08642-9.

Further reading

• Cathcart, Adam (2010). "Nationalism and Ethnic Identity in the Sino-Korean Border Region of Yanbian, 1945–1950". Korean Studies. 34: 25–53. JSTOR 23720146.

External links

• Official government website (in Chinese)
• Official government Tourism website
• Yanbian Office in Korea (in Korean)
• 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