Liaoning is a northeastern province of China, which has an area of 58,300 sq mi (151,000 sq km). Its capital is Shenyang.
Liaoning’s one-character abbreviation is Liao. Liao is an ancient name for this region, which was adopted by the Liao Dynasty (Khitan Empire) which ruled this area between 907 and 1125. "Ning" means "peacefulness". The modern province was established in 1907 as Fengtian province and the name was changed to Liaoning in 1929. Under the Japanese puppet Manchukuo regime, the province reverted to its old name, but the name Liaoning was restored in 1945.
Administrative divisions
Liaoning is composed of fourteen prefecture-level cities:
• Shenyang
• Dalian
• Anshan
• Fushun
• Benxi
• Dandong
• Jinzhou
• Huludao
• Yingkou
• Panjin
• Fuxin
• Liaoyang
• Tieling
• Chaoyang
These prefecture-level cities are in turn divided into 100 county-level divisions (17 county-level cities, 19 counties, eight autonomous counties, and 56 districts), which are then further subdivided into 1511 township-level divisions (613 towns, 301 townships, 77 ethnic townships, and 520 subdistricts).


History
The Qin and Han dynasties were able to establish rule over much of what is Liaoning; later on governments headed by various peoples such as the Gojoseon, Xianbei, Goguryeo, Khitan and Jurchen ruled Liaoning. In the seventeenth century, the Manchus established their capital in modern Shenyang, Liaoning, before they conquered the rest of China and set up the Qing Dynasty in 1644. In the last half of the seventeenth century the imperial government recruited migrants from Shandong to settle the relatively sparsely populated area. Many of the current residents of Liaoning trace their ancestry to these seventeenth century settlers. For the rest of the Manchu era, China’s Northeast was off-limits to Han Chinese, and was ruled by three generals, one of whom, the General of Shengjing, ruled much of modern Liaoning.
In 1860, the Manchu government began to reopen the region to migration, which quickly resulted in Han Chinese becoming the dominant ethnic group in the region. In the twentieth century, the province of Fengtian was set up in what is Liaoning today. When Japan and Russia fought the Russo-Japanese War in 1904-1905, many key battles took place in Liaoning. In 1931, Japan invaded and the area came under the rule of the Japanese-controlled puppet state of Manchukuo.
At the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, Liaoning did not exist; instead there were two provinces, Liaodong and Liaoxi, as well as five municipalities, Shenyang, Luda, Anshan, Fushun, and Benxi. These were all merged together into "Liaoning" in 1954, and parts of former Rehe province were merged into Liaoning in 1955.


Geography and climate
Liaoning is located in the southern part of China’s Northeast. It borders the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Gulf in the south, North Korea in the southeast, Jilin Province to the northeast, Hebei Province to the west, and Inner Mongolia to the northwest.
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 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 central part of Liaoning 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.
Ethnic group
The population of Liaoning is mostly Han Chinese with minorities of Manchus, Mongols, Hui, Koreans and Xibe.


Economy
Main agricultural products of Liaoning include maize, sorghum, and soybeans. The region around Dalian produces three-quarters of China’s exported apples and peaches. Cotton is also produced.
Liaoning has the most iron, magnesite, diamond, and boron deposits among all province-level subdivisions of China. Liaoning is also an important source of petroleum and natural gas. Salt is produced along the coast.
Liaoning is one of China’s most important industrial bases, covering a wide range of industries, such as machinery, electronics, metal refining, petroleum, chemical industries, construction materials, coal, and so on.
The sea off Dalian abounds with quality seafood, such as abalones, sea cucumbers, scallops, prawns, crabs, and sea urchins. The big fish of Dandong, the jellyfish of Yingkou, and the clams of Panjin are known worldwide for their good tastes.
In recent years, the city of Dalian has, in particular, been developed as a major port and the economic gateway to all of northeast China.
Ethnic group
The population of Liaoning is mostly Han Chinese with minorities of Manchus, Mongols, Hui, Koreans and Xibe.


Tourism
Tourist destinations in Liaoning include:
The Mukden Palace was the palace of the Qing Dynasty emperors before they conquered the rest of China and moved their capital to Beijing. Though not as large nor as famous as its counterpart (the Forbidden City) in Beijing, the Mukden palace is significant for its representation of palace architecture at the time, and has recently been included on the UNESCO World Heritage Site as an extension of the Imperial Palace site in Beijing.
In addition, three imperial tombs dating from the Qing Dynasty are located in Liaoning. These tomb sites have been grouped with other Ming and Qing Dynasties tombs (such as the Ming Dynasty Tombs in Beijing, and the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum in Nanjing) as a combined UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Wunu Mountain City, a Goguryeo site found in Huanren Manchu Autonomous County, is part of a combined UNESCO World Heritage Site that also includes sites in Ji’an, Jilin.
The city of Anshan boasts the Anshan Jade Buddha, the largest Buddha statue made of jade in the world.
Liaoyang, one of the oldest continuously-inhabited cities in northeast China, has a number of historical sites, including the White Pagoda (Baita) that dates to the Yuan Dynasty.
The port city of Dalian, located on the tip of the Liaodong Peninsula, is a tourist destination in its own right, with beaches, resorts, zoos, seafood, shopping, Russian- and Japanese-era architecture, and streetcars, a rare sight in China.
Dandong, on the border with North Korea, is a medium-sized city that offers a cross-river view of the North Korean city of Sinŭiju.
Bijia Mountain is a curious island which joins to the mainland at low tide by a land bridge.