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Yanji

Coordinates: 42°54′N 129°30′E / 42.900°N 129.500°E / 42.900; 129.500
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Yanji
延吉市 · 연길시
County-level city
Yanji cityscape in 2023
Children's Palace
China Korean Folk Park
Yanji in Yanbian
Yanji in Yanbian
Yanji is located in Jilin
Yanji
Yanji
Location of Yanji in Jilin Province
Coordinates: 42°54′N 129°30′E / 42.900°N 129.500°E / 42.900; 129.500
CountryChina
ProvinceJilin
Autonomous prefectureYanbian
Township-level divisions6 subdistricts
3 towns
Municipal seatHenan Subdistrict
Area
[1]
1,748.3 km2 (675.0 sq mi)
 • Urban
40.66 km2 (15.70 sq mi)
Elevation
179 m (587 ft)
Population
 (2020 census)[2]
686,136
 • Density390/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
 • Urban
548,700
 • Urban density13,000/km2 (35,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard)
Websitewww.yanji.gov.cn
Yanji
Chinese延吉
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinYánjí
Wade–GilesYen-chi
Chinese Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl연길
Hancha延吉
Transcriptions
Revised RomanizationYeon-gil
McCune–ReischauerYŏn'gil
South Korean name
Hangul옌지
Transcriptions
Revised RomanizationYenji
McCune–ReischauerYenji

Yanji (Chinese: 延吉; 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. Yanji City is located in the eastern part of Jilin Province. It is the seat of the government of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture and the political, economic and cultural center of the entire autonomous prefecture.[3] 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.[4]

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.[5]

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.[6] 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.[7]

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 112 mi (180 km) from Yanji.[8] 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.[8]

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.[9]

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.[10] The two were freed only after intervention at the highest level by former US President Clinton.[11]

Crystal meth seeping across the border from North Korea has led to a drug problem.[12] 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.[13]

Geography and climate

The geographical coordinates are between 42°50' and 43°23' north latitude, and between 129°01' and 129°48' east longitude.[14] Yanji is situated among foothills, with the main metropolitan area contained in a small, very flat area.[15] It is ringed by mountains dotted with small, remote farming communities.[16] 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 −13.2 °C (8.2 °F) in January to 21.7 °C (71.1 °F) in August, while the annual mean is 5.69 °C (42.2 °F) and a total precipitation of 531 mm (20.9 in), 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.

Climate data for Yanji (1991–2020 normals)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 7.8
(46.0) 		14.3
(57.7) 		26.6
(79.9) 		32.8
(91.0) 		33.3
(91.9) 		36.7
(98.1) 		37.7
(99.9) 		37.3
(99.1) 		33.1
(91.6) 		28.9
(84.0) 		19.6
(67.3) 		10.0
(50.0) 		37.7
(99.9)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −6.4
(20.5) 		−1.5
(29.3) 		5.8
(42.4) 		15.0
(59.0) 		21.1
(70.0) 		24.5
(76.1) 		27.1
(80.8) 		27.0
(80.6) 		22.5
(72.5) 		14.8
(58.6) 		3.6
(38.5) 		−4.8
(23.4) 		12.4
(54.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) −12.6
(9.3) 		−8.4
(16.9) 		−0.8
(30.6) 		7.7
(45.9) 		14.0
(57.2) 		18.4
(65.1) 		21.8
(71.2) 		21.6
(70.9) 		15.5
(59.9) 		7.4
(45.3) 		−2.4
(27.7) 		−10.5
(13.1) 		6.0
(42.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −17.6
(0.3) 		−14.3
(6.3) 		−6.8
(19.8) 		1.0
(33.8) 		7.7
(45.9) 		13.4
(56.1) 		17.6
(63.7) 		17.4
(63.3) 		10.0
(50.0) 		1.4
(34.5) 		−7.3
(18.9) 		−15.1
(4.8) 		0.6
(33.1)
Record low °C (°F) −31.4
(−24.5) 		−27.9
(−18.2) 		−23.3
(−9.9) 		−10.3
(13.5) 		−1.5
(29.3) 		5.3
(41.5) 		9.5
(49.1) 		6.9
(44.4) 		−1.7
(28.9) 		−11.6
(11.1) 		−23.6
(−10.5) 		−29.9
(−21.8) 		−31.4
(−24.5)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 4.9
(0.19) 		6.5
(0.26) 		11.4
(0.45) 		27.2
(1.07) 		63.9
(2.52) 		81.1
(3.19) 		123.8
(4.87) 		116.3
(4.58) 		60.0
(2.36) 		29.2
(1.15) 		16.7
(0.66) 		5.8
(0.23) 		546.8
(21.53)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 2.7 3.7 5.1 7.7 13.4 14.0 13.6 14.2 9.0 6.7 5.6 3.9 99.6
Average snowy days 5.4 5.6 7.1 2.8 0.1 0 0 0 0 1.3 5.8 6.5 34.6
Average relative humidity (%) 58 54 52 51 62 73 78 79 75 64 61 59 64
Mean monthly sunshine hours 174.3 186.8 219.3 211.4 222.1 199.8 186.2 193.1 210.7 203.1 154.8 153.2 2,314.8
Percent possible sunshine 60 63 59 53 49 44 40 45 57 60 54 55 53
Source: China Meteorological Administration[17][18][19]

Administrative divisions

Yanji has six subdistricts and four towns.[20]

Name Simplified Chinese Hanyu Pinyin Korean McCune–Reischauer Administrative division code
Subdistricts
Jinxue Subdistrict 进学街道 Jìnxué jiēdào 진학가도 chinhak kato 222401001
Beishan Subdistrict 北山街道 Běishān jiēdào 북산가도 puksan kato 222401002
Xinxing Subdistrict 新兴街道 Xīnxīng jiēdào 신흥가도 sinhŭng kato 222401003
Gongyuan Subdistrict 公园街道 Gōngyuán jiēdào 공원가도 kongwŏn kato 222401004
Henan Subdistrict 河南街道 Hénán jiēdào 하남가도 hanam kato 222401005
Jiangong Subdistrict 建工街道 Jiàngōng jiēdào 건공가도 kŏnkong kato 222401006
Towns
Xiaoying Town 小营镇 Xiǎoyíng zhèn 소영진 soyŏng chin 222401100
Yilan Town 依兰镇 Yīlán zhèn 이란진 iran chin 222401101
Sandaowan Town 三道湾镇 Sāndàowān zhèn 삼도만진 samtoman chin 222401102
Chaoyangchuan Town 朝阳川镇 Cháoyángchuān zhèn 조양천진 choyangch'ŏn chin 222401105

Demographics

The Korean diaspora in China has significant populations in at least eleven major Chinese cities,[21] but none larger than Yanji:[16] official Chinese census reports from 1990 placed the city's ethnic Korean population at over 170,000.[21] In 1994, the estimated total population of Yanji was 343,600.[22] Official census reports from 2000 have not yet been released publicly,[21] but current estimates place it between about one third of the city's total population[15][23] to more than one half.[5][24] Both Chinese and Korean are considered "official languages" of the city:[15] all official signs are in bilingual text.[24][25]

Economy

Yanji Department Store

With its current population estimated at four hundred thousand,[15] Yanji is small by Chinese standards (by comparison, the population of Shanghai is almost twenty million).[26] Yanji is also relatively young: the city was developed only in the nineteenth century[5] and became the regional capital after the Second World War.[27] Recent growth in tourism and overseas investment has helped to make Yanji a notably prosperous city.[24] It abounds with modern architecture of steel and glass,[24] and its broad avenues[24][25] are conspicuously clean and well-maintained.[25] In modern times, Yanji has become a city of transport and trade.[28] 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.[28]

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.[24] Much of the recent investment has been made by South Korea[29][30] and Taiwan, which has helped substantially in building the city's tourism industry.[24]

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.[31] Yanji also hosts the Tumen River Area International Investment & Business Forum, a three-day exposition held annually since 2000.[32]

Transport and infrastructure

Yanji BRT station

Daily train service to most major urban centers of the province is available from Yanji, including a 24-hour trip to Beijing.[7] 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.[7] 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.[33]

A new 125-mile (201 km) 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.[34]

Yanji Station.located in Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin Province, China, is a second-class station under the jurisdiction of China Railway Shenyang Bureau Group Co., Ltd. It was built in 1924.

[35]

As of 2012, Yanji offers the most convenient road access to the Rason Special Economic Zone in North Korea.[36]

Education

Yanbian University

Yanbian University is a comprehensive university in Yanji, founded in 1949; it offers eleven programs of study, including four doctoral programs.[37] The university maintains a full-time teaching staff of over 1,400, serving an active student body of over sixteen thousand.[37] 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.[38][39] It is a national "double first-class" construction university, a national "211 Project" key construction university, a key construction university for western development, a key construction university jointly supported by the Jilin Provincial People's Government and the Ministry of Education, and a jointly supported construction university by the Jilin Provincial People's Government and the National Ethnic Affairs Commission.[4]

Yanji is also home to the Yanbian University of Science and Technology, a technical research college founded in 1990,[40] and the Yanbian Medical College.[41]

Yanbian International Academy, the area school for foreigners, is located in Yanji.[42] There is also a school for Koreans, Korean International School in Yanbian.

Sport

Yanji stadium entrance

Yanji hosts sporting events at the 50,000-seat People's Stadium.[43] The city was the eighteenth stop[44] for the Olympic torch relay at the opening of the 2008 Summer Games.[45]

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.[46]

Culture

Two all-Korean television channels are produced locally, and others can be freely received from both North and South Korea.[27] Korean cuisine is highly popular and available everywhere.[47] An annual Korean folk festival takes place each September in Yanji, featuring traditional Korean music, dance, painting, and sports.[24]

Yanji Dinosaur Museum

Karaoke is popular in Yanji,[30]: 35  and the city even has a burgeoning underground beatboxing scene, which has been documented by filmmaker Liu Feng in Yan Bian Box (2007).[48][49]

Travel

Yanji was named "China's Excellent Tourism City" by the National Tourism Administration. It has beautiful natural scenery, rich Korean culture, the majestic Changbai Mountain to the south, and the summer resort Jingbo Lake to the north. Attractions in Yanji include: Maoershan National Forest Park, Chengzishan Mountain City Ruins, Mengdumei Folk Tourism Resort, Chunxing Village, an ancient Korean village, etc.[50]

Places such as China Korean Folk Garden, Yanbian University Internet Celebrity Wall, and Floating Market have become popular travel destinations. Tourists’ experience activities in Yanji have also expanded from simply viewing the scenery, tasting food, and appreciating folk customs to visiting the local morning market and wearing traditional costumes.[51]

References

  1. ^ Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, ed. (2019). China Urban Construction Statistical Yearbook 2017. Beijing: China Statistics Press. p. 50. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  2. ^ "延边朝鲜族自治州第七次全国人口普查公报" (in Chinese). Government of Yanbian Prefecture. 7 June 2021.
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  48. ^ "Party in his mouth". China Daily. 26 May 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
  49. ^ "Yanbian Box". InvAsian. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
  50. ^ "【延吉旅遊推介】2024年必去當地景點、美食打卡，熱門酒店餐廳景點旅遊攻略|永安旅遊". www.wingontravel.com. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  51. ^ "延吉旅游消费市场持续火爆_延边广播电视台官网（汉文） 延边信息港（汉文）". www.yb983.com. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Yanji.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yanji.
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