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 Chaoxianzu living in the region. The prefectural capital is Yanji and the total area is 42,700 km2. 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 (Chuang Guandong) 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. During the Cultural Revolution, ethnic Koreans were killed and persecuted in Yanbian. 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 Chaoxianzu have assimilated into mainstream Chinese culture with increasing speed, often switching to daily use of Chinese and choosing to attend Chinese-language schools.

Geography

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. The average land height is 500 metres above sea level. Main rivers include: The rivers sustain 28 running water processing facilities. They created basins, which are suitable for agricultural uses, like rice paddies and bean farms.

Politics

Structure

Administrative divisions

The prefecture is subdivided into eight county-level divisions: six county-level cities and two counties: The above counties and cities are divided into 642 villages (边境村).

Transportation

Railways include: There are 1480 km of public roads altogether. There are four airports.

Demographics

The total registered population in Yanbian at the end of 2022 was 2.015 million. The urbanization rate was 69.6% in 2022. Between 1952 and 2002, Yanbian had among the highest rates of urbanization at 55.6%, 20 percentage points greater than the provincial average (31.3%) and 25 more than the national average (26.5%).

Ethnic composition

The population of Yanbian was predominantly Han, who were estimated to make up 60.2%, followed by Koreans at 35.5%, and Manchus at 3.6%. The ethnic composition according to the 2020 census:

Economy

The GDP of Yanbian was about CN¥83.857 billion (US$12.479 billion). Its per capita for 2022 was CN¥44,007 (US$6,542). Its primary, secondary, and tertiary industries were worth CN¥7.652 billion (US$1.138 billion), CN¥33.527 billion (US$4.9285 billion), and CN¥42.708 billion (US$6.350 billion), respectively.

Education

Colleges and universities: International schools:

Culture

Both Mandarin Chinese and Chaoxianzu style 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: Also popular among locals during holidays and festivities.

Nature and environment

Over 70% of the prefecture is forest, so there is a rich biodiversity.

Sports

Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture is an important region for Chinese football. Over 50 years, more than 40 footballers have been selected by the China national 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. Yanbian Longding plays in the 30,000-seater Yanji Stadium in China League One, the second tier of the Chinese football league system. In 2016, Yanbian Football Club was sponsored by Shenzhen Funde Group (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.

Citations

Sources