- Liaodong Peninsula
The Liáodōng Peninsula (zh-st|s=辽东半岛|t=遼東半島) is a
peninsula in the Liáoníng province of northeasternChina , historically known in the west as southern east-Manchuria . "Liaodong" (formerly spelled "Liaotung") means "East of the Liáo". The Liáo River was a river during theWarring States that divided the Yan commandries of Liáoxī (zh-st|s=辽西|t=遼西) (west of the Liáo) and Liaodong.Geography
The peninsula is situated at the north of the
Yellow Sea , between the Bóhăi Sea to the west and theKorea Bay to the east.It forms the southern part of a mountain belt that continues northward in the
Changbai Mountains . The part of the mountain range on the peninsula is known as theQian Mountains .The two
seaport s,Dalian which lies midway along the peninsula at its narrowest point and Port Arthur/Lushun (now a consolidation of several municipalities known as Lüshun City), which is located at its southernmost point. Lüshun City is the governmental district seat of the 2 southernmost "Dalian districts" (county-level government), known asLüshunkou (literally "Lüshun Port"), organized under thesub-provincial city of Dalian. Lüshun/Port Arthur has a large lake-like naturally-protected harbor and semi-sheltered outer roadstead making it very attractive to imperialist powers at the end of the nineteenth century. Dalny/Dairen/Dalian's harbor required greater investment, initially supplied by the Russians, but turned into a first class city under the Japanese period of administration (1905–1945). The two ports are about convert|25|mi|km|0 apart by rail, but about convert|40|nmi|km|-1 apart by sea. Lüshun is 550 rail miles south of the Manchurian railroad hub city ofHarbin on the historic Southern Manchurian Railway (today'sChina Far East Railway (CER), which construction was one of the underlying causes of theRusso-Japanese War ).History
The peninsula was an important area of conflict during the
First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), which the Japanese won. Defeat precipitated decline in the Chinese Empire which was exploited bycolonial powers who extracted numerous concessions. The peninsula wasceded to Japan by theTreaty of Shimonoseki ofApril 17 ,1895 but this was rescinded after theTriple Intervention ofApril 23 ,1895 by Russia, France and Germany. In the aftermath of this intervention, the Russian government pressured the rulingQing dynasty to lease Liaodong and the strategically important Lüshunkou (Port Arthur) for use by the Russian Navy. This caused resentment in Japan and was a factor leading to theRusso-Japanese War (1904–1905) when negotiations concerning the peninsula,Manchuria , andKorea broke down, due to Russia's unwillingness to treat seriously with Japan as another power. As in the First Sino-Japanese War the Liaodong peninsula was the scene of major fighting in the Russo-Japanese War. As a consequence of theTreaty of Portsmouth (September 5 ,1905 ), which ended the Russo-Japanese War, both sides agreed to evacuate Manchuria and return its sovereignty to China, but Japan was given the lease for the Liaotung/Liaodong.ee also
*
Shandong Peninsula
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