| Yanbian 延边 Yeonbyeon(Yenben) 연변(옌벤) |
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|---|---|
| — Prefecture-level city — | |
| Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture 延边朝鲜族自治州 연변(옌벤) 조선족 자치주 |
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| Yanji, the prefectural seat of Yanbian | |
| Yanbian (red) in Jilin province (orange) and China | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | China |
| Province | Jilin |
| City seat | Yanji |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Jin Zhenji (金振吉) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 43,509 km2 (16,798.9 sq mi) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 2,290,000 |
| • Density | 52.6/km2 (136.3/sq mi) |
| Time zone | China Standard (UTC+8) |
| Area code(s) | 433 |
| Website | http://www.yanbian.gov.cn/ |
| Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture | |||||||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 延边朝鲜族自治州 | ||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 延邊朝鮮族自治州 | ||||||||||
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| Korean name | |||||||||||
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 연변(옌벤) 조선족 자치주 | ||||||||||
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Yanbian is a Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin Province, in Northeastern China, above the border with North Korea. Yanbian is bordered to the north by Heilongjiang, on the west by Baishan City and Jilin City, on the south by North Hamgyong Province of North Korea, and on the east by Primorsky Krai of Russia. Yanbian is designated as an 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.
Contents |
The prefecture is subdivided into eight county-level divisions: six county-level cities and two counties:
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| # | Name | Hanzi | Hanyu Pinyin | Hangul | Korean Revised | Korean McCune | Population (2003 est.) | Area (km²) | Density (/km²) |
| 1 | Yanji City | 延吉市 | Yánjí Shì | 연길시 | Yeongil-si | Yŏngil-si | 410,000 | 1,332 | 308 |
| 2 | Tumen City | 图们市 | Túmén Shì | 도문시 | Domun-si | Tomun-si | 130,000 | 1,142 | 114 |
| 3 | Dunhua City | 敦化市 | Dūnhuà Shì | 돈화시 | Donhwa-si | Tonhwa-si | 480,000 | 11,963 | 40 |
| 4 | Hunchun City | 珲春市 | Húnchūn Shì | 혼춘시 | Honchun-si | Honch’un-si | 220,000 | 4,938 | 45 |
| 5 | Longjing City | 龙井市 | Lóngjǐng Shì | 룡정시 | Ryongjeong-si | Ryongjŏng-si | 250,000 | 2,592 | 96 |
| 6 | Helong City | 和龙市 | Hélóng Shì | 화룡시 | Hwaryong-si | Hwaryong-si | 210,000 | 5,069 | 41 |
| 7 | Wangqing County | 汪清县 | Wāngqīng Xiàn | 왕청군 | Wangcheong-gun | Wangch’ŏng-kun | 250,000 | 8,994 | 28 |
| 8 | Antu County | 安图县 | Āntú Xiàn | 안도군 | Ando-gun | Ando-kun | 210,000 | 7,444 | 28 |
The above counties and cities are divided into 642 villages (边境村/邊境村).
In the Ming Dynasty, Yanbian was governed by the Jianzhou Guard-district (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.
In the 19th century, it was Chinese immigrants that migrated en masse from China proper to areas that were formerly off limits to Han Chinese migration. Qing China was not a Han Chinese state, but a Manchurian state. In addition, the Manchurian policy of trying to ensure that they were not assimilated by the Han Chinese stood as the main reason why immigration wasn't allowed into traditionally Manchurian lands (1644 - 1800s).
Those who took part in the Chinese Civil War did so with the implicit understanding that after the Chinese communists won, the Chinese communists would assist Korean communists in their own civil war.
In the 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. The population increase was caused by the Japanese invasion of that region. The Japanese were trying to use Korean immigration to diffuse the staying power of Chinese in that region. After the end of World War II, many Koreans did not go back to Korea, even though their country had been liberated (as there were economic and political problems back in their country). Instead, they joined the Chinese Civil War and were mobilized by both Chinese communists and the Chinese Nationalists. When the civil war was over, the new Chinese government gave Koreans their own autonomous region (区) in 1952. Yanbian was upgraded to an ethnic autonomous prefecture in 1955.
Korean (Joseon) migration into what is now China (Manchuria) began at the tail end of the 19th century and were for the most part escaping the economic hardships faced under Japanese economic policy.[1]
In 1952, the Korean migrants composed some 60% of the local population, but by 2000 their share had shrunk to 32%. The Chinese authorities subsidize Korean language schools and publications, but also take measures to prevent an emergence of the Korean irredentism in the area. From the late 1990s the Koreans began to be assimilated into Chinese culture with increasing speed, often switching to daily use of Chinese and choosing to attend the Chinese language schools.[2]
Mountains that are in the prefecture are:
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.
Average land height is 500 metres above sea level.
Main rivers include:
The rivers sustain 28 running water processing facilities.
The rivers created basins, which are suitable for agricultural uses, like rice paddies and bean farms.
Railways include:
Public roads are 1,480-kilometre altogether. There are four airports.
Ethnicity compositions:
Population density: 51 people per km² (132 per mi2).
Like on the Korean peninsula, Yanbian Koreans' most common surname is Kim. Many emigrated from Korea during the 19th century, and again during the Japanese Occupation.
The Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture has an index of urbanization standard (城市化水准) at 55.6%, 20 percentage points greater than the provincial average (31.3%) and 25 more than the national average (26.5%).[3]
Both Chinese and Korean are used as official languages in Yanbian Ethnic Korean Autonomous Prefecture. Most ethnic Koreans in this area are bilingual. Like Koreans living in the Korean peninsula, ethnic Koreans in Yanbian use Western punctuation in writing.
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.
There are seven public parks in Yanbian's green space (18% of whole prefecture), including:
Also popular among locals during holidays and festivities.
Over 70% are originally forest in the prefecture, so there is a rich diversity of life.
Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture is an important football 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 been played each years 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.
In 2001, Yanbian Football Club was founded. They are currently playing in the second-class football league.
The popular 2006 South Korean drama serial Pure In Heart features a female protagonist, "Yang Guk Hwa" (played by South Korean actress Ku Hye Sun) who came to Seoul from Yanbian. She is portrayed as an honest and warm-hearted young lady who grew up in a poverty-stricken rural region and experiences difficulties living in urban Seoul. Other characters in the drama refer to Guk Hwa as a 'country girl' and as a 'foreigner' (which would be technically correct since ethnic Koreans in Yanbian are citizens of the People's Republic of China, and in one scene Guk Hwa is shown to own a passport that has a red cover with gold lettering, characteristic of PRC passports). In one scene, Guk Hwa is shown speaking in Chinese.
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