A geographer’s Guide to Liaoning

and its provincial capital, Shenyang

By

Dorothy Whiteley

Liaoning is the most southerly of the three provinces that form China’s “Northeast”

ContentsTopic Slides

Overview and geomorphology 3-10

Climate and soils 11-13

Population and historical summary 14-15

Economy and indicators 16-17

Rural Economy 18-20

Resources and power 21-22

Manufacturing and FDI 23-25

Pollution in Liaoning 26-30

Major cities introduction 31-34

Shenyang 35-40

Tourism in Liaoning 41-44

Recent news 45

Where could this resource be used 46

Overview of Liaoning Province

Liaoning Province is located in the southern part of China’s Northeast, bordering the Bohai Gulf and Yellow Sea to the south and the Korean Peninsula to the southeast. In the southeast, the Yalu River and the city of Dandong demarks the Liaoning/North Korean border, across which 70% of all official trade between China and North Korea passes.

Known to the Chinese as ‘the Golden Triangle’ due to it’s shape and location

Summary of Province with ref to ‘Revitalising the NE’ plan

http://shenyang.usembassy-china.org.cn/ln.html

It is possible to think of Liaoning as three approximate geographical regions: : the highlands in the west, plains in the middle, and hills in the east.

The highlands, in Western Liaoning, fringe the northern shore of Liaodong Bay between Shanhaiguan (Hebei) and Jinzhou and are predominantly a highland area comprising the broken and eroded fringe of the Mongolian Plateau. They reach heights of approx. 450 metres but near the sea the mountains have been intensely eroded by fast-flowing rivers, so that a complex mass of valleys and ridges has been formed.

The central part of Liaoning is a depression continuous with the North China Plain but erosional rather than depositional. consists of the watersheds of rivers such as the Liao, Daliao, and their tributaries. This region is mostly low flat plains with poor drainage causing swamps now mostly drained

The eastern part of Liaoning is dominated by the Changbai Shan and Qianshan ranges, which extend into the sea to form the Liaodong Peninsula where the coastline is submerging. The highest point in Liaoning, Mount Huabozi (1336 m), is found in this region. The NE section is the least developed part of the province.

Physical geography of Liaoning

The highlands, in Western Liaoning, fringe the northern shore of Liaodong Bay between Shanhaiguan (Hebei) and Jinzhou and are predominantly a highland area comprising the broken and eroded fringe of the Mongolian Plateau. They reach heights of approx. 450 metres but near the sea the mountains have been intensely eroded by fast-flowing rivers, so that a complex mass of valleys and ridges has been formed.

The central part of Liaoning is a depression continuous with the North China Plain but erosional rather than depositional. consists of the watersheds of rivers such as the Liao, Daliao, and their tributaries. This region is mostly low flat plains with poor drainage causing swamps now mostly drained

The eastern part of Liaoning is dominated by the Changbai Shan and Qianshan ranges, which extend into the sea to form the Liaodong Peninsula where the coastline is submerging. The highest point in Liaoning, Mount Huabozi (1336 m), is found in this region. The NE section is the least developed part of the province.

The Qianshan Mountains

The Continental Monsoon Climate of Liaoning

January Mean Temperatures

July Mean Temperatures

Frost Free Days pa

Dalian -5°C 23°C 200

Shenyang -12°C 25°C 160-180

Precipitation in Liaoning as a whole diminishes consistently from southeast to northwest. Average annual precipitation is about 440 to 1,130 mm, ¾of it falling between June and September and almost none from December through February. The summer rainfall is often torrential, but everywhere the scarcity of spring precipitation tends to leave crops short of water.

SoilsThe soils of the middle of the Liao lowland are of the calcareous alluvial type; those of the peripheries to east and west are of brown forest types; and those of the northern peripheries are red earths. The swamps have gley soils (having a sticky layer of clay under the waterlogged surface). The soils of the peninsula, like the rock types and the topography, are highly mixed and varied. Most of the best soils there are of

brown forest type or of red or yellow loess (an unstratified wind-borne loamy deposit). There has been serious soil erosion, and skeletal soils occur on the steeper slopes.

Gley Soils

Yellow Sea

Liaodong Bay

Bohai Sea

North Korea

South Korea

Jilin Province

X Shenyang

x Dalianx Dandong

Notice sedimentation in shallow seas especially the Bohai Sea and the East China coast and west coast of

Korea

Mouth of x Huang Ho (Yellow) river

x Beijing

Eroded soil meets the sea

PopulationSee Migration notes in article on Diaspora

Ethnic groups in Liaoning, 2000 census

Nationality Population Percentage

Han Chinese 35,105,991 83.94%

Manchu 5,385,287 12.88%

Mongol 669,972 1.60%

Hui 264,407 0.632%

Koreans 241,052 0.576%

Xibe 132,615 0.317%

.

.

In 2012, Liaoning's population was

43.89 million. Ethnic minorities

(e.g Koreans, Mongolians, Manchus,

Hui, Xibo) make up about 16 percent

of the population

Timeline

Economy of the Province The economy of Liaoning is by far the

strongest in the Northeast and is one of the strongest provincial economies in China. Liaoning is one of the country’s principal industrial provinces. One reason for the high level of development in Liaoning is the high level of capitalization, based both on investments made under the government since 1949 and on important foreign investments made between 1896 and 1945, mainly by the Japanese – summarised on following slide

Economic Indicators

2012 Jan-Nov 2013

ValueGrowth(%, y-o-

y)Value

Growth(%, y-o-

y)Gross Domestic Product (RMB bn)

2,484.6 9.5 1,926.4 3 8.7

Per Capita GDP (RMB) 56,649 9.4    Added Value Output        - Primary industry (RMB bn) 215.6 5.1 125.7 3 3.2 - Secondary industry (RMB bn) 1,323.1 9.8 1036.3 3 9.2 - Tertiary industry (RMB bn) 946.0 10.1 764.4 3 8.7 Value-added Industrial Output 2 (RMB bn)

  14.9   9.7

Fixed-assets Investment (RMB bn)

2,183.6 23.2 2,403.4 20.4

Retail Sales (RMB bn) 925.7 15.7 852.3 13.5Inflation (Consumer Price Index, %)

   2.8   2.5

Exports (US$ bn) 57.9 13.5 60.5 14.4Imports (US$ bn) 46.0 2.3 44.8 6.7

Major Economic Indicators : Notice size of % changes (3 = Jan-Sep 2013)

Why has the rural economy developed at a slower pace?

Investment has always been much heavier in industry than in farming.

Earlier Japanese administrators had not invested in agriculture

Natural calamities, such as spring drought Inefficient cultivation methods in many places,

which result in lower agricultural yields. Exceptional opportunities for employment in

industry also tend to deprive agriculture of much of the best labour, in spite of policies designed to prevent this.

Short summer preventing 2 crops a year

The larger the circle the greater the area of sown land

The darker the red the greater the level of water scarcity

What is grown here?

Peanuts Corn

Sugar beet Rice

Apples Vegetables

Pears Soybean Cotton

Tussah silkworm Tobacco

Reforested Timber

Resources and power in Liaoning

1. Iron ore is concentrated in a triangular area to the south of Shenyang. These ores are generally easy to mine but are of relatively poor quality; ores of better quality occur in the north-eastern part of the province.

2. Coal is more widespread, and its distribution partly overlaps that of iron. Coal is exploited in three main areas to the north, east and southeast, and west of Shenyang. Fushun, east of Shenyang, and Fuxin, to the west, have two of the most important collieries in China. Both were exploited under the Japanese but have been expanded since the communists came to power. Apart from its use as fuel and in smelting, coal is used in Liaoning to produce synthetic petroleum.

3. Oil shale which occurs in the Fushun area and in western Liaoning and generally over the coal seams is used to make synthetic petroleum.

4. Oil from the Liao River oil field, first developed in the late 1960s and has become one of China’s largest onshore producers.

…….continued1. Rich reserves of manganese ore occur in western

Liaoning and in the southeast.

2. In the eastern mountain area there are substantial deposits of boron, lead, and zinc; smaller similar deposits occur in the west, together with an important deposit of molybdenum. Important concentrations of magnetite are found around Haicheng, southwest of Shenyang.

1. There are also reserves of other minerals, including bauxite, gold, and diamonds, and sea salt is produced.

Liaoning is a major regional producer of electric power. Much of this is generated by large coal-fired thermal plants in Shenyang, Dalian, and other cities, but a growing proportion consists of hydroelectricity. Liaoning exports some of its production to neighbouring provinces.

Manufacturing CentresCITY POPULATION

IN 2010Summary

SHENYANG 8.1 million Shenyang has provincial-level powers in economic planning. Promotes a wide range of heavy and light industry eg machinery and electronics.

ANSHAN 3.6 million Home to the Anshan Iron and Steel Group, one of the largest steel producers in China.

FUSHUN 2.3 million Near Shenyang - based on coal and oil shale

LIAOYANG Chemical fibre and textile centre

DALIAN 6.7 million Best harbour in NE, Major port, Strategic position, Modern Engineering, shipbuilding and locomotives + one of China’s coastal cities open to FDI

JINZHOU Less developed but focus is modern industry

TIELING New city in the north based on local coal. Link shows poor growth of New Town outside the city http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324412604578515382905495900

PANJIN New city in Liao delta based on local oil

Foreign Investment Liaoning attracted the largest amount of FDI in

northern China. Dalian and Shenyang are the most popular destinations of FDI in Liaoning, together accounting for 67.8% of the total in 2012.  The manufacturing sector attracted the largest share of FDI (46.5% of the total) in 2012, followed by the real estate sector.

 Hong Kong is the largest source of FDI in Liaoning. In 2012, utilised FDI from Hong Kong amounted to US$14.7 billion, accounting for 54.7% of the total utilized FDI. Besides Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, US, Germany and Taiwan are major sources of FDI.

Steel plant, Benxi

Walking in Shenyang Oct 2013

Shenyang Oct 2013

Shenyang

POLLUTION IN

LIAONING

The Impact of coal-fired power stations

Volume = size of circleImpact = density of colour

Open the link to see a live map for air pollution in Liaoning. Weds 9/7/2014 range was

from 24-173 http://aqicn.org/map/liaoning/

AQI Air Pollution

Impact

0-50 Good Air quality is considered satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk

51-100 Moderate Air quality is acceptable; but some pollutants may pose a moderate health risk for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive

101-150

Unhealthy for sensitive groups

Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is not likely to be affected.

151-200

Unhealthy Everyone may begin to experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects

201-300

Very Unhealthy

Health warnings of emergency conditions. The entire population is more likely to be affected.

300+ Hazardous Health alert: serious health effects for everybody

Dec 2013 - 8 Liaoning cities fined for air pollution

Local governments in eight cities in northeast China's Liaoning Province have been fined a total of 54.2 million yuan (8.9 million U.S. dollars) for air pollution

Shenyang, capital of Liaoning, was ordered to pay a fine of 34.6 million yuan. Seven other cities, including Dalian and Anshan, were fined 19.6 million yuan

Decades of breakneck economic growth, the coal-dominated energy mix and lax environmental law enforcement are blamed for the prominent pollution in Liaoning

The choking smog affecting areas of northern China, including Liaoning, is particularly bad in winter, the peak season for coal consumption. Industries such as glass, iron and steel, coal and cement are among high-energy consumers. Therefore, halting production at these industries would be the best solution. Cement is the one most likely to be targeted but this could cause permanent closures and/or a move towards cheaper (and more polluting) fuels

Air Pollution Websites/Articles http://

china.org.cn/environment/2013-12/10/content_30856898.htm

http://aqicn.org/map/liaoning/ http://

www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20131227000080&cid=1105

http://www.chinacp.org.cn/eng/cppolicystrategy/cp_cities.html

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/sci_tech/environment/AJ201310240045

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/831346.shtml

Major Cities

CitiesGDP(RMB bn)

Per Capita GDP

(RMB)

Retail Sales(RMB bn)

Exports(US$ mn)

Shenyang 瀋陽 660.2 80,480 280.2 5,965

Dalian  大連 700.2 102,922 222.4 34,682

Anshan 鞍山 242.9 69,211 70.4 2,374

Fushun 撫順 123.6 58,512 45.5 707

Dandong 丹東 101.5 42,171 37.6 2,875

Jinzhou 錦州 124.3 40,002 43.5 1,751

Yingkou 營口 138.1 56,583 34.1 3,882

Economic Indicators of Major Cities 2012

AnshanDalianJinzhouDandongYingkou+BenxiFushunHuludaoTielingLiaoyang

Major Cities Capital = Shenyang

Jinzhou Jinzhou is one of the key business cities

in China with a wide range of industries. It was once regarded as “a newly developed industrial area” in the 1960s. The first transistor, quartz glass, nylon, electronic impact furnace, and artificial plastic flower were all made in Jinzhou. Jinzhou, focusing on petrochemical, new materials and deep processing of agricultural products, has formed a stable industry base, such as: electronics, pharmaceuticals and textiles.

It also held the 2013 World Landscape Art Exposition

Shenyang Wulihe football stadium Shenyang

Sunbird sculpture, North Railway StationShenyang

Memorial in Shenyang linked to 1931 Japanese invasion of Liaoning

Images of Shenyang

Tourism Introductionhttp://www.chinadiscover.net/liaoning-

tourism/

Travelogue Clip for Shenyang

http://www.mynetbizz.com/packages/Shenyang/Shenyang-sightseeing-tours.cfm

Most Popular Attractions in Shenyang

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism-g297450-Liaoning-Vacations.html

In Shenyang, Liaoning's capital city, there is a Manchu version of the Forbidden City known as the Shenyang Imperial Palace. Built on the same principles as the Forbidden City in Beijing, although much smaller in scope, it was completed by Huang Taiji in 1636. Second only to the Forbidden City, it is the most intact imperial building in existence in China. The Imperial Palace is a museum that features extensive exhibits of jade, ivory, artworks of Ming and Qing dynasties (including paintings, sculpture, enamels and ceramics), musical instruments, and a large display of 17th and 18th Centuries military equipment. The emperors that built the Imperial Palace also built their burial sites in Shenyang: Fuling Tomb also called the East Tomb; and Zhaoling Tomb, also called the North Tomb. Emperor Nurhachi and his mistress are buried in Fuling Tomb. Nurhachi's son, Huang Taiji (the father of Emperor Shunzhi) and his empress are buried in Zhaoling. The large and beautiful Zhaoling tomb has been compared to the Ming Tombs in Beijing and is located in the enormous Beiling Park. A third tomb, Yongling Tomb, completes the famous tomb group known as the 'three tombs outside of the Great Wall'.

Shenyang City Centre

Pollution in Shenyang Shenyang is a key industrial center in the highly industrialized region of

Northeastern China. With a population of 6.7 million, it is China's fourth largest city and is considered to be an economic and scientific powerhouse. As the national economy strengthened during the 1980s and 1990s, the city experienced rapid industrial growth, which worsened existing environmental problems and introduced new ones. 

As the standard of living increased, public interest in environmental quality also increased. The Sustainable Shenyang Project reflects that concern in 3 areas: 1. Deteriorating air quality caused by coal combustion2. Surface and ground water pollution caused in part by an increasingly severe water shortage

3. Increasing amount of both domestic and industrial waste.

Initiatives that have come out of the program include promotion of unleaded gasoline, city greening, energy control and the introduction of energy-saving technology, rehabilitation of the Liao He River, freshwater pollution control, solid waste reduction, and the construction of public toilets, landfill sites and more advanced wastewater treatment plants. 

Shenyang is one of China’s 10 Demonstration Cities which promote cleaner production

A Beacon of Hope in Shenyang http://e360.yale.edu/feature/shenyang_a_once-poll

uted_china_city_is_turning_from_gray_to_green/2454/

Almost every day of his childhood, He Xin remembers the skies in his hometown of Shenyang being gray. “If I wore a white shirt to school, by the end of the day it would be brown,” recalls He, who was born in 1974, “and there would be a ring of black soot under the collar.”

Tiexi suburb was the site of several steel works and a workers model village, now this is gone and It has new four-lane roads, upscale apartment complexes, a Carrefour store, and Shenyang’s first Ikea

Tourism in LiaoningBeing the birthplace of the Jin and Qing dynasties, Liaoning has abundant historic sites plus a distinct physical landscape. Notice tourist numbers but

relate to year-on-year growth especially from overseas – possibly linked to growing business ties

  2012%

change

Number of domestic tourist (million)

363 11.4

Income generated (RMB bn) 374 18.4

Number of overseas tourist (million)

4.7 15.3

Foreign exchange income (US$ bn)

3.2 17.3

Source: Liaoning Statistical Yearbook 2013

Liaoning has a number of sites of scenic and historical interest, including three designated by UNESCO in 2004 as World Heritage sites: the Imperial Palace of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911/12) in Shenyang, added to the site (designated 1987) encompassing the Forbidden City in Beijing; three tombs of Manchu rulers near Shenyang, also added to an existing site (designated 2000) preserving tombs of the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing dynasties in other provinces; and ruins of one of the capital cities of the ancient Koguryŏ kingdom at Wunu Mountain in eastern Liaoning, which were collectively designated with other Koguryŏ city sites and tombs in neighbouring Jilin province. In addition, the easternmost section of the extant Great Wall (named a World Heritage site in 1987) runs along the southwestern corner of the province.Famous local handicrafts, such as jade carvings from Xiuyan, agates from Jinzhou, and shell carvings and glassware from Dalian, are also of great interest to the large numbers of tourists who visit the province annually

Southeast of Shenyang is Benxi, which has the largest water cave in Asia. Within 45 square kilometers (17 square miles) of Benxi Water Cave National Park, there are six areas of particular interest: Mount Miaohou, Mount Tiecha, Mount Guanmen, the Spa Temple, Tanggou Valley, and the Water Cave. The Water Cave has an underground river with water so clear that the riverbed is always visible. Take a ride on the sightseeing boat and enter into the magic and mystery of the stalactite formations that have formed over millions of years. It is common to see artists at the various mountains and Tanggou Valley drawing and painting the mountains and the innumerable flowers and trees that are nurtured by the mountain streams. Benxi Water Cave National Park is a unique wonderland of pastoral beauty that has captured the imagines and hearts of its visitors throughout the ages.

Liaoning Province is opulent in natural beauty as well as interesting attractions. Aside from the ones noted above, there are also: Fenghuang Mountain; Shenya Aquarium in Xinghai Bay Resort has more than 7,000 fish; Dalian's Nest Cliff and Tiger Beach, which has the largest aviary in China (18,000 square meters or 6,950 square miles) and possibly the largest animal sculpture in the world; the 300,000-year-old Yingkou Jinniushan Relic, Phoenix Mountain, and Bingyu Valley. We must mention Tiecha Mountain, which is located east of Benxi. Because its eastern, southern and northern peaks can be seen from three sides, it is also known as Jiu Ding (Nine Tops). Among this mountain's many caves is Yunguang Cave, which houses eight treasures: stone dragon, stone toad, stone fish, stone bed, stone lotus, stone longevity and 'the wind that calms the pearl'. This mountain, which is considered the birthplace of Taoism in Northeast China, has a great amount of interesting, ancient calligraphy carved into its rocks

Recent news July 3rd 2014 – Shares in Dalian port rose

due to central government approving a plan for an international shipping and logistics centre plus free trade agreement talks with South Korea

July 2-6th 2014 Singapore business delegation visited Shenyang looking for partnership opportunities. In 2013 bilateral trade between the two areas grew by 40.2% to reach $4.1 billion.

Aug 2013 – 12th National games were held in Liaoning cities with 350 events and 31 sports. Liaoning came second after Shandong and above the People’s Liberation Army.

Where could this resource be used?

1.GCSE a)Economic Development now and with a

view to the new specifications 2016b)Urbanisationc)Tourism

2. AQA A Levela) World Cities moduleb) Development modulec) Population/Migration at AS

3. IBa) Global Interactions eg trans-boundary pollutionb) Core 2 – Disparities of Wealth ie Shenyang v

Beijing and core/peripheryc) Core 1 – Populations in Transition – compare with

Tibet for changing ethnic balanced) Core 4 – Changing Patterns of Resource

consumption