'Dalian' (; ; ;
Japanese: Dairen;
Russian: Далянь, Dalian or Дальний, Dalny) is the governing
sub-provincial city in the eastern
Liaoning Province of
Northeast China. Dalian is also China's northernmost
ice-free seaport .
Administration
Dalian
The city administers 6
districts, 3
county-level cities, and 1
county.
Ganjingzi, Zhongshan, Xigang, and Shahekou make up the urban centre. Changhai County is made up entirely of islands east of the peninsula. There are 74 sub-districts and 127 town/townships (11 of which are ethnic). (see
Political divisions of China#Levels)
There are, in addition, 4 national leading open zones (对外开放先导区):
★ The Development Zone (开发区)
★ The Free Trade Zone (保税区)
★ The Hi-Tech Industrial Zone (高新技术产业园区)
★ The Golden Pebble Beach National Holiday Resort (金石滩国家旅游度假区)
| Pinyin | Hanzi | Area
(km²) | Population |
|---|
| 'Districts' |
| Ganjingzi | 甘井子区 | 491 | 540 000 |
| Lüshunkou | 旅顺口区 | 506 | 210 000 |
| Xigang | 西岗区 | 26 | 330 000 |
| Zhongshan | 中山区 | 43 | 370 000 |
| Shahekou | 沙河口区 | 49 | 600 000 |
| Dalian Development Zone | 开发区 | 329 | 300 000 |
| Jinzhou | 金州区 | 1390 | 660 000 |
| 'Cities' | |||
| Wafangdian | 瓦房店市 | 3791 | 1 030 000 |
| Pulandian | 普兰店市 | 2923 | 820 000 |
| Zhuanghe | 庄河市 | 3866 | 900 000 |
| 'County' | |||
| Changhai | 长海县 | 152 | 90 000 |
Geography
One of the most heavily developed industrial areas of China, the Dalian administrative district today consists of Dalian proper and the smaller
Lüshunkou (formerly Lüshun city, known in western and Russian historic references as Port Arthur), about forty nautical miles farther along the Liaotung/
Liaodong Peninsula. Historical references note that the Russian designed city of Dalny (Alt. Dalney), on the south side of
Talien Bay was 40 rail kilometers from Port Arthur/Lüshun (known today as Lüshunkou or literally, Lüshun Port).
Dalian - Landsat photo (circa 2000)
Dalian is located west of the
Yellow Sea and east of
Bohai Sea roughly in the middle of the Liaodong/Liaotung peninsula at its narrowest neck or
isthmus. With a coastline of 1,906
km, it governs the entire Liaodong Peninsula and about 260 surrounding islands and reefs. It is south-south-west of the
Yalu River, and its harbor entrance forms a sub-Bay known as
Dalian Bay.
History
Its History Up To Qing Dynasty
In the
Qin and
Han periods (221 B.C.-220 A.D.), the Dalian region was under the jurisdiction of Liaodong county. In the early
Tang Dynasty (618-907), the Dalian region was under the jurisdiction of Andong Prefecture in Jili state, and in the
Liao Dynasty (916-1125), it was under the jurisdiction of Dong Jing Tong Liaoyang county. Dalian was named Sanshan in the period of
Weijin (220-420), San Shanpu in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Sanshan Seaport in the
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and Qing Niwakou in the
Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). In the 1880s, the Qing government constructed loading bridges and fortifications with built-in cannons, and set up mining camps on the northern coast of Dalian Gulf, making it become a small town.
First the Russians, Then the Japanese Came
The settlement was occupied by the British in 1858, returned to the Chinese in the 1880s, and then occupied by Japan in 1895 during the
first Sino-Japanese War.
In 1898, the
Russian Empire leased the peninsula from the Qing Dynasty, and a modern city was laid out with the name of Dalny. Linked to the
Trans-Siberian Railway, Dalny became Russia's primary port-city in Asia.
Dalny was the main battlefield of the
Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and Russo-Japanese War (1905).
Dairen (Dailian) in 1912
Both Dalny (Qingniwaqiao 青泥洼桥 of Zhongshan District, Dalian) and Port Arthur (
Lüshunkou) were developed and heavily fortified by the Russians in the period prior to 1904. Consequently, some historians blame the fall of Port Arthur, a world shaking event of epic proportions, during the
siege of Port Arthur on
January 2,
1905 for the failure by Admiral Eugene Alexeieff, to concentrate on the naval base and its fortifications, instead splitting precious resources shipped 5,000 miles across the single tracked
Trans-Siberian Railway and
Manchurian railways.
After the
Russo-Japanese war Port Arthur was conceded to Japan (
Treaty of Portsmouth), who set up the
Kwantung Leased Territory or Guandongzhou. Since the foundation of
Manchukuo in 1932, the sovereignty of the territory moved from China to
Manchukuo. Japan still leased it from
Manchukuo. In 1937, the modern Dalian City was enlarged and modernized by the Japanese as two cities: the northern 'Dairen' (Dalian) and the southern Ryojun (Lushun).
Its History After 1945
With the unconditional surrender of Japan in August of 1945, Dalian passed to the Soviets, who had taken possession of the city in advance of the end of hostilities and remained in the city until 1955. During this period the Soviets and Chinese Communists cooperated in the further development of the city, its industrial infrastructure, and especially the port. The city had been relatively undamaged during the war.
After the departure of the Soviets, China made Dalian into a major shipbuilding center. In the 1990s the city benefitted from the attentions of
Bo Xilai (son of the important first generation Party elder,
Bo Yibo) who was both mayor of the city and provincial party official, who, among other things, banned motorcycles, created large, lush parks in the city's many traffic circles, and generally built things up very attractively. He also preserved much of Dalian's interesting and attractive Japanese and Russian architectural heritage. His legacy, however, also includes the usual quota of empty buildings built with questionable loans, over-development, and corruption. He is now Minister of Commerce.
Economy
Agriculture and Aquaculture
Dalian was originally an agriculture and aquaculture-based area, which, after the opening of the ferry between Yantai and Lüshun during the early 20th century, began to be populated by the farmers and fishermen of
Shandong, across the
Yellow Sea. Corn, vegetables, fruit such as apples, cherries and pears are Dalian's typical agricultural products. Aquaculture is well developed in Dalian, exporting seaweed, scallops, sea urchins and others to Japan, Korea and other countries.
Heavy, Light and Distribution Industries
Even before and during the Sino-Japanese War, the shipbuilding and locomotives industries were a thriving industry, such as the companies which later became
Dalian Shipbuilding Co. and
Dalian Locomotive & Roll Stock Works (DLoco). After the War, Dalian became an important center of the heavy and light industries, including companies such as
Dalian Heavy Industry Co.,
Dalian Chemical Group, and
Wafangdian Bearing Co.; and of the distribution industry, including such as
Dashang Group. Overseas retailing giants, such as Wal-Mart from U.S.A., Carrefour from France and Metro from Germany have recently opened stores in Dalian. Mycal, the Japanese retailing chain store, was bought out by its Chinese partner, Dashang Group, and is operated as Mykal.
Dalian Port is emerging as a very important port for international trade. A new harbor for oil tankers, at the terminus of an oil
pipeline from the
Daqing oilfields, was completed in 1976. Dalian is the largest
petroleum port in China, and also the 3rd largest port overall. Accordingly, Dalian is a major center for
oil refineries, diesel engineering, and chemical production. Also completed recently is a newer port on Dagushan Penninsula on the northern suburbs, specializing in inport/export of mining and oil products. Together with its Dalian Railroad Station, Dalian International Airport and two major express roads ro Shengyand-Changchun-Harbin in the north and to Dandong to the east, Dalian has become an important distribution center.
Dalian Development Zone
Dalian has been given many benefits by the Chinese government, including the title of "open-city" (1984), which allows it to receive considerable
foreign investment (see
Special Economic Zone). The Development Zone was established in Jinzhou District, to which many Japanese manufacturing companies, such as
Cannon,
Mitsubishi Electric,
Nidec,
Sanyo Electric and
Toshiba, followed by Korean, American and European companies (such as
Pfizer. In March 2007, Intel announced plans to build a semiconductor fabrication facility (commonly known as a fab) in the Development Zon, Dalian. It is Intel's first fab to be built at an entirely new site in over 15 years. The fab at Dalian will make the chip sets that support Intel's microprocessors and is expected to begin operation in the first half of 2010. (Source: The Wall Street Journal; March 26, 2007; Page B6)
Financial Industry
There are the Dalian bramches of China's all five major bankas: Bank of China, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, and Agricultural Bank of China. Dalian Commercial Bank is now called Dalian Bank, which among other things handles such Dalian City related items as processing of the Dalian Mingzhu IC Card for the public transportation. Foreign banks, such as
HSBC,
Bank of East Asia,
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and
Mizuho Corporate Bank have branch offices here.
Dalian Commodity Exchange is the only one of its kind in China, expanding the futures market beyond the soy beans. A "Financial Street" around the new Commodity Exchange building is now being planned.
The World Is Flat with IT Industry
Since the 1990s. Dalian City has emphasized the development of the IT industry, especially in
Dalian HiTech Zone and
Dalian Software Park in the western suburbs near Dalian University of Technology. There, there are not only Chinese IT companies, such as
DHC,
Hisoft and
Neusoft Group, but also American, European and Japanese IT companies, such as
Accenture,
Dell,
GENPACT (a
Genral Electric subsidiary),
HP,
IBM,
GENPACT (a
Genral Electric subsidiary),
SAP AG,
Alpine,
CSK Holding,
Panasonic,
NEC and
Sony.
Dalian has recently become the world's important center of IT Outsourcing (ITO) and Business Process Outsourcing (
BPO), after
Bangaluru (Bangalore) of India, as aptly written in "
The World Is Flat" by
Thomas Friedman (2007). In another way, Dalian is the forerunner of China's "Re-Development of the Old Industry Bases in Northeast" National Project, which began in 2002.
Viewing Dalian's Modern Insutries
The Dalian Modern Museuam in Xinghai Square is a good place to quickly view Dalian's present-day industries, with displays of the products and services of the major companies.
Also good are the city-wide festivals:
China International Software & Information Service Fair (June), Dalian International Beer Festival (July-August) and Dalian International Auto Show (August) and Dalian International Fashion Week (September).
Sightseeing and Attractions
Dalian is a very popular destination among Chinese tourists and foreign visitors, especially from Japan, Korea and Russia. Its mild climate and multiple beaches as well as its importance in the modern history of China make it an especially nice place to visit. Some of the most famous beaches are
Tiger beach,
Xinghai beach,
Jinshitan beach and
Fujiazhuang beach.
Four Inner-City Districts
★ Zhongshan Square and Friendship Square
★ Tiger Beach and Fujiazhuan Beach
:Tiger beach is a good place to see natural scenery. There are Seabed World, Bird Sing Wood and the recently completed Polar Region Museum, where a dolphin show is a big attraction.
★ Xinghai Square, Shinghai Park and Heishijiao
★
Xinghai Square was built at the centinary of the City of Dalian (1998) and is slated to be East Asia's largest square. Xinghai beach is in side
Xinghai Park. It is about 800m long and is an excellent place for swimming.
Jinzhou District and Development Zone (in the northern suburbs)
★ Dahei Mountain
★ Jinshitan Sightseeing Area
:Jinshitan beach, the Golden Pebble Beach is a tourist attaction with splendid coves and rock formations. There is also a golf course (Jinshitan International Golf Course), cross country motorcycling, an amusement park (Discovery Kingdom) and a hunting forest. It is a good place for someone who wants silence and peace and it's excellent for swimming too.
Lüshunkou District (in the western suburbs)
★ Lüshun Museum
★ Lüshun Railroad Station
★ 203 Highland and Shuishiying Meeting Place
:The fiercest battle site and the signing site of the cease fire treaty, of the Battle of Lüshun during the Russo-Japanese War 1904-05.
Three Northern Cities of Greater Dalian
★ Anbo Hotspring and Ski Course, in Pulandian City
★ Zhangxing Island International Golf Course, in Wafangdian City
★ Binyugou Scenic Area and Buyun Mountain Hotspring, in Zhuanhe City
For a thorough review of the major attractions, see the
Dalian wikitravel page.
See also .
Transportation
A street in Dalian near the Dalian Bank Tower
Local Transportation
Dalian is one of the few cities in China where there are not many bicycles, because the area is full of slopes, and where there are few motorcycles, because their sales is prohibited. The number of cars on Dalian streets has increased dramatically in recent years, though not causing major traffic jams yet. The city has a comprehensive bus system and an efficient light rail
mass transit system, usually called Qinggui (轻轨), which connects Dalian Development Zone and Jinshitan with downtown Dalian.
Inter-City Transportation
Dalian has a modern and recently (2006) expanded international airport,
Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport, with direct flights to the most major cities in China, and to the selected cities in
Japan,
South Korea and
Germany.
The city's location means that train trips to most Chinese cities outside China's northeastern region require changing trains in
Shanghai or
Beijing. Most of the direct city to city express trains are overnight trips. On August 23, 2007, construction started on the new Harbin-Dalian High-Speed Passenger Railway, which upon completion will connect these two cities in 4.5 hours, compared to 9 to 13 hours on the current railway.
Source The New Dalian Station will be set up at Nanguanling (南关岭), in the northern suburbs, on the way to Dalian Development Zone.
In addition to local and express bus service to Beijing and other areas in the northeast, Dalian is connected by passenger ship service to neighbouring coastal cities, such as
Tianjin and
Yantai, as well as
Incheon,
South Korea.
See also
Life and Culture
Dalian Dialect
Sports
:Sports play a big role in the local culture. The city's mayor, a young princeling (member of the ruling cadres) encouraged a top league soccer team with foreign aid and a lot of city cash to increase the city's image in the country and bring local fame. They have been caught out several times though and the heyday of the Super Team has passed. The city's soccer team has dominated the sport in China and Asia by winning 7 titles out of the past 9 years of Chinese professional soccer league. The city is also a powerhouse producing numerous track and field champions.
:The Dalian's
soccer club is
Dalian Shide (大连实德), one of fifteen teams in the
Chinese Super League. Prior to 2000, they were known as
Dalian Wanda (大连万达). Many regard Dalian Shide as China's premier soccer club having achieved success as:
:
★ Premium A Champions 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002
:
★ Asian Club Championship Runners-Up 1997
:
★ Asian Cup Winners' Cup Runners-Up 2001
:
★ Chinese Super Cup Winners 1997, 2001, 2003
:
★ China FA Cup Winners 2001
City-Wide Festivals
:Xinghai Square, the Xinghai Conference Center, the Dalian World Expo Center and the hotels on Renmin Rd. are the places where Dalian's major annual events are held: Fireworks Displays (Chinese New Year, May 1 and October 1), Dalian International Walking Festival (May), Dalian Locust Flower Festival (May), Dalian International Marathon (June),
China International Software & Information Service Fair (June), Dalian International Beer Festival (July-August), Dalian International Auto Show (August) and Dalian International Fashion Week (September).
:Every September Dalian hosts the
Dalian International Fashion Festival (大连国际服装节). This festival is a chance for many major foreign companies to showcase their new products and sign up buyers. Before the festival, the city holds an opening ceremony attended by government officials as well as famous stars of the entertainment world.
Zoo and Museums
:Dalian is the home of three zoological parks:
Dalian Forest Zoo,
Shengya Ocean World, and
Polar World. The Forest Zoo has a free-range animal section as well as a more traditional zoo. Shengya Ocean World includes an underwater conveyor through a transparent tunnel. Polar World is the only park devoted to polar animals in China. Dalian is also home to a number of public squares, including
Xinghai Square.
Food and Restaurants
:The local cuisine heavily depends on variety of fresh
seafood and fruits, both of which are abundant in the area.
Government-to-Government and People-to-People Communication
:In China's Northeast Region, Japan, South Korea and U.S. maintain their Consulate Generals' offices in Shenyang. Japan in addition maintains a branch of the Consulate General's office and a
JETRO office in Dalian, reflecting a relatively large Japanese population here.
:
Japane Chamber of Commerce & Industry has about 700 corporate members. Those Japanese who had lived in Dalian before the War, have organized the
Dalian Society (Dairen Kai). There are such voluntary groups as Lilac Society (for women) and
Dalain Mountaineering Association. On the Internet, foreigners in Dalian "talk" to each other in
Dalian Expatriots (English), Dalian Community in
Mixi (Japanese) and
Dalian Tianjianwang/Runsky.Com (Chinese).
Religion
:Five traditional religions (Taoism, Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism and Islam) are "officially approved" by the Chinese government. Taoist temples are not found in downtown Dalian, but in Lushunkou District (Longwang Temple), and in Jinzhou District (Jinlong Temple in Daweijia, Xiangshui Temple at the foot of Dahei Mountain, and Zhenwu Temple in Liangjiadian). Buddhist temples are in downtown Dalian (Songshan Temple on Tangshan Street), on the northern side of Anzi Mountain (Anshan Temple), at Daheishi (Thousand-Hand Buddha & 500 Luohan Statues), in Lushunkou District (Hengshan Temple at Longwangtan), and in Jinzhou District 'Guanyinge-Shengshui Temple on Dahei Mountain). Dalian Islamic Mosque is on Beijing Street.
:Dalian Chatholic Church (built in
1926) is in downtown Dalian, west of Dalian Railway Station. Protestant churches are near Zhongshan Square (Yuguanjie Church, built in
1928 next to the British Consulate General's office, by the Anglican Churches of Britain and Japan jointly), on Zhangjiang Street (Cheng-en Church, a former a Danish Lutheran church, which now also houses the Dalian branch of
China Christian Council and Three-Self Patriotic Movement Committee), on Xi-an Road (Christian Church for the Korean Minority), east of the airport (the newly built Harvest Church, which can seat 4000 people), in Jinzhou (the newly built Jinzhou Church) and Lushunkou District (Lushun Church, a former Danish Lutheran church). There are many other underground Christian fellowships ("house churches").
:For foreigners, there are
Dalian International Christian Fellowship (English) and other fellowship groups.
Education
There are the following schools of higher education and research centers:
Colleges and Universities
★
Dalian Fisheries University (大连水产学院)
[1]
★
Dalian Jiaotong University (大连交通大学)
[2] (formerly, Dalian Raiway Institute 大连铁道学院)
★
Dalian Maritime University (大连海事大学)
[3]
★
Dalian Medical University (大连医科大学)
[4]
★ Dalian Polytechnic University (大连工业大学)
[5] (formerly,
Dalian University of Light Industry 大连轻工学院)
★ Dalian University (大连大学)
[6]
★ Dalian University of Foreign Languages (大连外国语学院)
[7]
★
Dalian University of Technology (大连理工大学)
[8]
★
Dongbei University of Finance and Economics (DUFE) (东北财经大学)
[9]
★
Liaoning Normal University (辽宁师范大学)
[10]
★ Neusoft Institute of Information (东北大学东软信息学院)
[11] (formally, Neusoft Institute of Information Technology 东软信息技术学院)
There are undergoing relocations of colleges and universities from the metropolitan Dalian to its suburban districts. In 2007, ''Dalian University of Foreign Languages'' (except for its Schools of Chinese Studies 汉学院 and Continuous Education 培训部) and ''Dalian Medical University'' (except its Hospital) were moved to
Lüshunkou District, just east of Baiyin Mountain Tunnel (白银山).
Research Centers
★
Dalian Institute of Chemistry & Physics (大连化学物理研究所, called Huawusuo 化物所 for short)
, Chinese Academy of Sciences (中国科学院)
Sister cities of Dalian
The following are sister cities of Dalian:
★
Szczecin,
Poland
★
Glasgow,
Scotland
★
Kitakyūshū,
Japan
★
Le Havre,
France
★
Vancouver,
Canada
★
Ohrid,
Republic of Macedonia
★
Bremen,
Germany
★
Incheon,
South Korea
★
Oakland,
USA
★
Rostock,
Germany
★
Houston,
USA
★
Maizuru,
Japan
★
Vladivostok,
Russia
★
22x20px
,
Republic of Congo
★
Adelaide,
Australia
Urban planning
Dalian is considered a "model city" in China's urban planning; Since mid 1990's, she has inspired many other cities in their respective "make-overs".
Environmental protection
Dalian is considered one of the cleanest cities in China.
Dalian frequently ranks Grade 2 for air pollution according to
SEPA.
[12]
Plastination center
The German
anatomist Gunther von Hagens runs a
plastination center in Dalian.
External links
Official
★
Official site
Maps
★
Subdivision maps
★
★
Detailed
★
Map of Location in China
★
Detailed map
Tourism
★
Dalian International Community & Tourism Portal
★
Discover Dalian
★
Living in Dalian
★
References
★ Tom McKnight,PhD, et al; ''Geographica'' (ATLAS), Barnes and Noble Books AND Random House, New York, 1999-2004, 3rd revision, ISBN 0-7607-5974-X, 618 pp.
★ Frank Theiss, ''The Voyage of Forgotten Men'', 1937, Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1st Ed., Indianapolis & New York, 415 pp.
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