Dalian---Travel In China

Dalian (Traditional Chinese: 大連, Simplified Chinese: 大连, Hanyu Pinyin: Dàlián, Wade-Giles: Ta-lien), formerly Lüda or Luta, is an ice-free seaport city in eastern Liaoning Province of the Northeastern People's Republic of China (Manchuria). It is west of the Yellow Sea (Korea Bay) and east of Bohai Sea. With a coastline of 1,906 km, it governs the southernmost Liaodong Peninsula and about 260 surrounding islands and reefs.

Area: 13,237 km² (land 12,573.85)
Population: 5,550,000 (2001)
Geographic coordinate: 120°58'-123°31' East, 38°43'-40°10' North
Capital: Xigang
One of the most heavily developed industrial areas of China, Dalian today consists of Dalian proper and the smaller Lushun (Port Arthur), formerly a city in its own right as well.

History
Part of the State of Yan in the Spring and Autumn Period, Dalian became a small town in the 1880s, when the Qing Empire established bridges, cannon platforms and camps there. Named after the Dalianwan Bay of the Yellow Sea northeast of the peninsula, it was officially called Dalian in 1899, and the term was first used in October 1879 by Li Hongzhang in a document.

Dalian of south Pulandian 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. From 1898-1905, it was occupied by the Russians and renamed Dalny (Qingniwaqiao of Zhongshan District, Dalian) and Port Arthur (Lüshun). After the Russo-Japanese war Port Arthur was conceded to Japan (Treaty of Portsmouth), who held it from February 5, 1905-1937. 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). It was was part of the Japanese Manchukuo puppet state.

After World War II, Dalian was returned to Soviet-Chinese control (see Yalta Conference), and was returned to full Chinese control in 1955, although the first communist Chinese mayor of the new Lüda Administrative Office was elected in 1945. Lüda is the acronym of Lüshun and Dalian. Because of the sudden closure of many Japanese businesses, many Dalian residents were out of work for a while.

On December 1, 1950, Lüda was made into a city again. From March 12, 1953 to August 1, 1954, it became a municipality. The city's name was changed from Lüda to Dalian on March 5, 1981, after the State Council approved it on February 9. It was upgraded from a prefecture-level city to a sub-provincial city in 1994, with no change in its administrative subdivisions.

Subdivisions
The city contains 6 districts, 3 county-level cities, and 1 county:

New Jinzhou District is a section Jinzhou District under development and is technically not an administrative district, although it is at district-level.
Ganjingzi, Zhongshan, Xigang, 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:

The Development Zone
The Free Trade Zone
The Hi-Tech Industrial Zone
The Golden Pebble Beach National Holiday Resort

Economy
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.

Dalian has been given many benefits by the Chinese government, including the title of "open-city," (1984) which allows it consiberable foreign investment (see Special economic zone).

Cultural Life
Every September Dalian hosts the Dalian International Fashion Festival. 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.

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.

Miscellaneous
Dalian is considered a "model city" from which other urban planning in China is to be inspired from.

Dalian is a sister city of Le Havre, France and of Glasgow, Scotland.

Dalian, compared to ancient capital cities such as Beijing, Xian, Nanjing or Luoyang, is a young city with only a 100-year history. Situated at the tip of China's Liaodong Peninsular, it is a trading and financial center in northeastern Asia and has gained the name the 'Hong Kong of Northern China'.

The old name of Dalian was first used by an official in his memorial to Emperor Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) referring to the present Dalian Gulf. In the early 20th century, the gulf area developed quickly and Dalian expanded into a city of significant size and importance.

After the Opium War in 1840, Dalian was plunged into warfare. At the end of the 1800s, Japanese and Russian invaders successively set their feet on the Chinese mainland here. In 1894, Japan invaded the Peninsular and in 1897 Russian troops occupied Lushun Port (Port Arthur) and imposed upon the Qing government an unfair contract, in which they ceded Lushun as a colony to Russia. Seven years later, Lushun was again transferred to Japanese rule, when the Russians lost in the Japanese-Russian War. From then on Dalian suffered from the colonial rule of Russia and Japan for decades. It was as recently as 1955 that the Chinese government took over sovereignty of Lushun and the hardest times in this city's history ended.

Both the Russian and Japanese colonists dreamed of establishing a city of their own on this land in those colonial periods. A group of Russian architects fascinated with French culture came to Dalian with their construction blueprint of Paris and built all sorts of elegant squares with artistic sculptures, lush lawns and western-style fountains. These formed the architectural basis of the present city - taking squares as the center and radiating outwards. Today, the stylish women troopers patrolling the squares have become a feature of the city.

Zhongshan District, originally the colonial residential area of the Russians and containing Nicholas Square,(Zhongshan Square) is a bustling downtown area of the city. The square (Zhongshan Square) has ten avenues radiating from it and is one of the most famous squares in the city. Renmin Square, originally called Stalin Square and marked out to be the administrative center of the Russian colonists, now houses the government's financial institutions in Euro-style buildings. The old tramlines built by Japanese colonists and left behind through the ages tell the history of the city.

The impression Dalian gives to the world is of a city of lawns, squares, fountains and gardens. This is all thanks to the former mayor of the city, Bo Xilai, who initiated a 'Green Storm' - a widespread environmental campaign which brought numerous green squares, forest parks and seaside scenic spots to the city. Of Dalian, people say it is 'A City Built in Gardens'.

There are two things that have earned the city a great reputation. One is Football and the other is Fashion. Given the name of 'Oriental Brazil', it hosts many Chinese football matches and has the most successful football teams in China. The enthusiastic fans in the football club of the four-star Wanda International Hotel tell everyone how much the Chinese like this game.

Another carnival event in the city is Dalian International Fashion Festival, during which thousands of dazzling celebrities, designers, pop stars and clothing merchants from both home and abroad get together to present an In-Fashion feast to the world. Consequently, Dalian stirs shopping lovers' blood with all sorts of skyscraper shopping malls and markets.If you are lucky enough to come to the city around September, a sea of world-class fashion brands will delight you.

Running from downtown Dalian there is a 40-kilometer (25-mile) road known as Binhai Lu winding along the coastline, northeast to southwest. This coastal area is a paradise for beach vacationers. The famous scenic spots of Bangchuidao Scenic Area, Laohutan Scenic Area, Jinshitan Scenic Area and Xinghai Square are scattered around this region. In addition to the stunning cliffs and scenic parks, numerous places along the coastline are good for beach resort visitors and water sports lovers. Meanwhile, you can sample the authentic Dalian-style seafood in a fisherman's house at an incredibly low price.

Located to the southwest of Dalian is Lushun, the former military and strategic port colonized by Russia. Today it is a place with museums and historical sites for tourists to learn the history of the city. Bingyu Valley, 240 kilometers (150 miles) north of Dalian is home to an astonishing array of rock formations amidst limpid waters, similar to those found in Guilin.

Surrounded by the Yellow Sea and inland Bohai Sea, Dalian has rich marine resources. The seafood in Dalian is equal to its southern counterpart in Guangzhong Province and there are numerous restaurants in the city providing a wide variety of top-quality seafood at very reasonable prices.

Numerous bathing places and beaches in the city are popular venues for Dalian's locals to relax from everyday work and stress. Young people, like those in many other metropolitan cities in China are trend pursuers who spend their evenings in bars and pubs throughout the city.