Yanji Explained

Yanji
Settlement Type:County-level city
Pushpin Map:Jilin
Pushpin Label Position:top
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of Yanji in Jilin Province
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:China
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:Jilin
Subdivision Type2:Autonomous prefecture
Subdivision Name2:Yanbian
Subdivision Type3:Township-level divisions
Subdivision Name3:6 subdistricts
3 towns
Seat Type:Municipal seat
Seat:Henan Subdistrict
Area Total Km2:1748.3
Area Urban Km2:40.66
Area Footnotes:[1]
Population Density Km2:auto
Population Density Urban Km2:auto
Population Total:686136
Population As Of:2020 census
Population Urban:548700
Population Footnotes:[2]
Timezone:China Standard
Utc Offset:+8
Coordinates:42.9°N 159°W
Elevation M:179
C:延吉
W:Yen-chi
P:Yánjí
Cnhangul:연길
Cnhanja:延吉
Cnrr:Yeon-gil
Cnmr:Yŏn'gil
Skhangul:옌지
Skrr:Yenji
Skmr:Yenji
Northkorea:yes
Order:st

Yanji (; Korean: Korean: 연길; alternately romanized as Yenki or Yenji) is a county-level city in the east of China's Jilin Province, and is the seat of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. Its population is approximately 400,000 of which a significant portion is ethnic Korean. Yanji is a busy hub of transport and trade between China and North Korea. The city is home to Yanbian University, a comprehensive university and the only Project 211 university in Yanji.

History

Yanji and its environs were largely unpopulated until the 1800s when Qing dynasty rulers of China began to encourage migration there from China proper as part of its Chuang Guandong policy to populate Manchuria in an effort to stem encroaching Russian expansion.

The city was the seat of Jiandao Province in the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo from 1934 to 1943. In 1943, the city itself was renamed Jiandao (Chientao) and made a part of the Dongman Consolidated Province (东满总省).

Following World War II, the city (again called Yanji) was nominally part of a new Songjiang Province but with the communist seizure of power in 1949, Sonjiang's borders were changed and Yanji became part of Jilin Province.

Yanji is now part of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, which is situated in eastern Jilin.[3] Yanji City is centrally located, surrounded by five other county-level cities and two rural counties (see map); it is the administrative seat of the prefecture.[4]

International incidents

The North Korean military detonated its second nuclear test in May 2009 close to the Chinese border, and the blast set off an earthquake of magnitude 4.5 with an epicenter only 112miles from Yanji.[5] The mutual goodwill of the Chinese and Korean populations in the region was put under severe strain, and many in Yanji expressed newfound feelings of dismay and insecurity regarding their North Korean neighbors.[5]

A South Korean pastor, the Reverend Kim Dong-shik, was kidnapped in Yanji in January 2000, one of numerous well-publicized North Korean abductions of South Koreans; a suspect of mixed Korean-Chinese descent, said to have been trained in Pyongyang, was arrested and charged with the crime in December 2004.[6]

Yanji was the starting point of an international dispute in 2009 when two American journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, were detained by North Korean border guards when, after leaving Yanji, they overstepped the nearby demarcation line.[7] The two were freed only after intervention at the highest level by former US President Clinton.[8]

Crystal meth seeping across the border from North Korea has led to a drug problem.[9] According to a Brookings report, "Jilin Province is not only the most important transshipment point for drugs from North Korea into China, but has itself become one of the largest markets in China for amphetamine-type stimulants." Yanji had registered nearly 2100 drug addicts in 2010 compared to just 44 in 1990; local officials admitted that the actual number was possibly five or six times higher.[10]

Geography and climate

Yanji is situated among foothills, with the main metropolitan area contained in a small, very flat area. It is ringed by mountains dotted with small, remote farming communities. It has a four-season, monsoon-influenced, humid continental climate (classified in the Köppen system as Dwb), with long, very cold winters, and short, but very warm, humid summers. Spring and autumn constitute very short transitions with some, but usually not heavy, rainfall. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from NaN°C in January to 21.7°C in August, while the annual mean is 5.69°C and a total precipitation of 531mm, most of it falling during the summer. Sunshine is generous but falling far short of the central and western parts of Jilin; with monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 39% in July to 62% in February, there are 2,280 hours of bright sunshine annually.

Administrative divisions

Yanji has six subdistricts and four towns.[11]

NameSimplified ChineseHanyu PinyinKoreanMcCune–ReischauerAdministrative division code
Subdistricts
Jinxue SubdistrictChinese: 进学街道Korean: 진학가도222401001
Beishan SubdistrictChinese: 北山街道Korean: 북산가도222401002
Xinxing SubdistrictChinese: 新兴街道Korean: 신흥가도222401003
Gongyuan SubdistrictChinese: 公园街道Korean: 공원가도222401004
Henan SubdistrictChinese: 河南街道Korean: 하남가도222401005
Jiangong SubdistrictChinese: 建工街道Korean: 건공가도222401006
Towns
Xiaoying TownChinese: 小营镇Korean: 소영진222401100
Yilan TownChinese: 依兰镇Korean: 이란진222401101
Sandaowan TownChinese: 三道湾镇Korean: 삼도만진222401102
Chaoyangchuan TownChinese: 朝阳川镇Korean: 조양천진222401105

Demographics

The Korean diaspora in China has significant populations in at least eleven major Chinese cities,[12] but none larger than Yanji:[13] official Chinese census reports from 1990 placed the city's ethnic Korean population at over 170,000.[12] In 1994, the estimated total population of Yanji was 343,600.[14] Official census reports from 2000 have not yet been released publicly,[12] but current estimates place it between about one third of the city's total population[15] [16] to more than one half.[17] [18] Both Chinese and Korean are considered "official languages" of the city: all official signs are in bilingual text.[19]

Economy

With its current population estimated at four hundred thousand, Yanji is small by Chinese standards (by comparison, the population of Shanghai is almost twenty million).[20] Yanji is also relatively young: the city was developed only in the nineteenth century[17] and became the regional capital after the Second World War.[21] Recent growth in tourism and overseas investment has helped to make Yanji a notably prosperous city. It abounds with modern architecture of steel and glass, and its broad avenues[19] are conspicuously clean and well-maintained.[19] In modern times, Yanji has become a city of transport and trade.[22] China is the largest trading partner of North Korea, accounting for almost 40% of that country's international commerce, and Yanji is the center of much of the cross-border enterprise.[22]

Beyond North Korea, other countries have begun to partner with Yanji business groups: currently there are over five hundred joint ventures with international partners ongoing in Yanji. Much of the recent investment has been made by South Korea[23] [24] and Taiwan, which has helped substantially in building the city's tourism industry.

Yanji also burnishes its reputation as a center of tourism by hosting the annual North China Travel Fair. Held every year since 1996, the fair is one of the largest of its kind in the country, showcasing over a thousand exhibitions representing cultural and economic partners from across China and overseas.[25] Yanji also hosts the Tumen River Area International Investment & Business Forum, a three-day exposition held annually since 2000.[26]

Transport and infrastructure

Daily train service to most major urban centers of the province is available from Yanji, including a 24-hour trip to Beijing. A much shorter trip to the Chinese capital can be arranged at Yanji Chaoyangchuan International Airport which serves the area with scheduled passenger flights domestically and to Korea. International air service is provided by the Changchun Longjia Airport, and surface travel to Changchun itself has been made more accessible since the large Changchun-Yanji Expressway was opened to the public in 2009.[27]

A new 125miles water and sewage pipeline was completed in 2006, linking Yanji and the neighboring cities of Jilin and Songyuan to modern sewage treatment plants along the Songhua River.[28]

As of 2012, Yanji offers the most convenient road access to the Rason Special Economic Zone in North Korea.[29]

Education

Yanbian University is a comprehensive university in Yanji, founded in 1949; it offers eleven programs of study, including four doctoral programs.[30] The university maintains a full-time teaching staff of over 1,400, serving an active student body of over sixteen thousand.[30] One of Yanbian University's graduates, a Korean language major, is Zhang Dejiang, formerly a deputy secretary of the Municipal Committee of Yanji (1983–1985), and now a Vice-Premier of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing.[31] [32]

Yanji is also home to the Yanbian University of Science and Technology, a technical research college founded in 1990,[33] and the Yanbian Medical College.[34]

Yanbian International Academy, the area school for foreigners, is located in Yanji.[35] There is also a school for Koreans, Korean International School in Yanbian.

Sport

Yanji hosts sporting events at the 50,000-seat People's Stadium.[36] The city was the eighteenth stop[37] for the Olympic torch relay at the opening of the 2008 Summer Games.[38]

Officials from the Guinness Book of World Records visited the athletics stadium at Yanbian University in July 2010 to witness a new world record being set: over one thousand students simultaneously juggled soccer balls with their feet for more than ten seconds.[39]

Culture

Two all-Korean television channels are produced locally, and others can be freely received from both North and South Korea.[21] Korean cuisine is highly popular and available everywhere.[40] An annual Korean folk festival takes place each September in Yanji, featuring traditional Korean music, dance, painting, and sports.Karaoke is popular in Yanji,[24] and the city even has a burgeoning underground beatboxing scene, which has been documented by filmmaker Liu Feng in Yan Bian Box (2007).[41] [42]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development . Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development . China Urban Construction Statistical Yearbook 2017 . 2019 . China Statistics Press . Beijing . 50 . 11 January 2020.
  2. Web site: 延边朝鲜族自治州第七次全国人口普查公报 . Government of Yanbian Prefecture . zh . 2021-06-07 .
  3. Web site: The Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture . 2003 . China.org.cn . 21 November 2010 .
  4. Book: Harper, Damian . China . 2007 . Lonely Planet . 978-1-74059-915-3 . 384 . 21 November 2010 .
  5. Book: Guo, Rongxing . Managing Fragile Regions: Method and Application . Freeman, Carla . 2010 . Springer . 978-1-4419-6435-9 . 39 . 25 November 2010 .
  6. News: Seoul charges suspect in North Korea kidnapping case . Andrew . Salmon . The New York Times. 15 December 2004 . 25 November 2010 .
  7. News: North Korea Said to Detain 2 U.S. Journalists . Choe . Sang-Hun . The New York Times. 19 March 2009 . 22 November 2010 .
  8. Web site: North Korea Pardons US Reporters . 4 August 2009 . BBC News . 22 November 2010 .
  9. News: North Korea's Addicting Export: Crystal Meth . Isaac . Stone Fish . Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting . 20 June 2011 . 27 June 2011.
  10. News: North Korea's Meth Export . Isaac . Stone Fish . Newsweek. 19 June 2011 . 27 June 2011.
  11. Web site: http://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/tjbz/tjyqhdmhcxhfdm/2022/22/24/222401.html . zh:2022年统计用区划代码:延吉市 . National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China . zh .
  12. Book: Bergsten, C. Fred . The Korean Diaspora in the World Economy . 2003 . Peterson Institute . US . 0-88132-358-6 . 106 . 22 November 2010 .
  13. Book: Akaha, Tsuneo . Crossing National Borders: Human migration issues in Northeast Asia . Vassilieva, Anna . 2005 . United Nations University Press . 92-808-1117-7 . 171 . 21 November 2010 .
  14. Book: 1998. Yanji. Saul B. Cohen. The Columbia Gazetteer of the World. 3. New York. Columbia University Press. 0-231-11040-5. 98-071262. 164337564. 3515. registration.
  15. Demick . Barbara . Nothing Left: Is North Korea finally facing collapse? . The New Yorker . 5 July 2010 . 12 & 19 July 2010 . 44–49 . 22 November 2010 .
  16. Web site: The Gentle Decline of the 'Third Korea' . https://web.archive.org/web/20070827110946/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/IH16Ad01.html . unfit . 27 August 2007 . Lankov, Andrei . 16 August 2007 . Asia Times . 22 November 2010 .
  17. Web site: China torch relay: Yanji . 21 July 2008 . BBC News . 22 November 2010 .
  18. Book: Evans, Thammy . Great Wall of China: Beijing & Northern China . 2006 . Bradt Travel Guides . 1-84162-158-7 . 118 . 21 November 2010 .
  19. Book: Legerton, Colin . Invisible China: A Journey Through Ethnic Borderlands . Rawson, Jacob . 2009 . Chicago Review Press . 978-1-55652-814-9 . 44 . 22 November 2010 .
  20. Web site: Shanghai's permanent population approaches 20 mln . 20 February 2010 . People's Daily . 25 November 2010 .
  21. Web site: A slice of Korea in China . https://web.archive.org/web/20031008005859/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/EJ04Dg01.html . unfit . 8 October 2003 . Fung, Alan . 4 October 2003 . Asia Times . 25 November 2010 .
  22. News: Rice to Press China to Enforce North Korean Sanctions . Weisman . Steven R. . Onishi, Norimitsu . The New York Times. 16 October 2006 . 21 November 2010 .
  23. Book: Montgomery, John D. . Social Capital as a Policy Resource . Inkeles, Alex . 2001 . Springer . 0-7923-7273-5 . 54 . 21 November 2010 .
  24. Book: Wu, Fulong . Globalization and the Chinese City . 2006 . Psychology Press . 0-415-35199-5 . 35 . 22 November 2010 .
  25. Web site: Yanji fair promotes northern tourism . 22 July 2008 . China Daily. 23 November 2010 .
  26. Web site: Tumen River Area International Investment & Business Forum . 2004 . China Daily. 25 November 2010 .
  27. Web site: Seven million vote in bid to find 'Top Eight' tourism sites . Liu Mingtai . 22 October 2009 . China Daily. 21 November 2010 .
  28. Web site: Safe water to drink is a major concern for Jilin . 12 October 2006 . China Daily. 25 November 2010 .
  29. News: China-North Korea: the next Promised Land for tourism?. 21 August 2012. Travel Daily News. 20 August 2012. Luc Citrinot.
  30. Web site: Yanbian University: A Brief Introduction . Yanbian University . 21 November 2010 .
  31. Web site: Zhang Dejiang, Chinese vice-premier . Xinhua News Agency . 2008 . China Daily. 25 November 2010 .
  32. Web site: Politburo: Zhang Dejiang . 2007 . China Daily. 25 November 2010 .
  33. Web site: Yanbian University of Science & Technology . 2005 . YUST . 21 November 2010 .
  34. Book: International Association of Universities . World List of Universities . 2009 . 18 . University of Michigan (MacMillan) . 978-0-333-47488-4 . 96 . 22 November 2010 .
  35. "Where Are We?" (Archive). Yanbian International Academy. Retrieved 1 October 2015. "Yanbian International Academy 2728B Chaoyang Street, Yanji City, Jilin Province China 133000[...]吉林省延吉市朝阳街2728B 外国人学校 中国 133000" – Google Maps has it listed as "Yanbian Waiguoren School"
  36. Web site: Stadiums in China . 2007 . World Stadiums.com . 21 November 2010 .
  37. Web site: Torch Relay: Planned Route . Beijing2008.cn . 25 November 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101223102525/http://torchrelay.beijing2008.cn/en/journey/ . 23 December 2010.
  38. Web site: Olympic torch relay in Yanji concludes . 2008 . Beijing2008.cn . 21 November 2010 .
  39. Web site: World record ball-juggling made in China . 11 July 2010 . China Daily. 23 November 2010.
  40. Book: Foster, Simon . Frommer's China . Lin-Liu, Jen . 2010 . Frommer's . 978-0-470-52658-3 . 207 . 25 November 2010 .
  41. Web site: Party in his mouth . 26 May 2007 . China Daily. 23 November 2010 .
  42. Web site: Yanbian Box . InvAsian . 23 November 2010 .