Yanji

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. 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. ==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 from Yanji. 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. 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. The two were freed only after intervention at the highest level by former US President Clinton. Crystal meth seeping across the border from North Korea has led to a drug problem. 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. ==Geography and climate==

The geographical coordinates are between 42°50' and 43°23' north latitude, and between 129°01' and 129°48' east longitude. 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 in January to in August, while the annual mean is and a total precipitation of , 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. ==Demographics==

The Korean diaspora in China has significant populations in at least eleven major Chinese cities, but none larger than Yanji: official Chinese census reports from 1990 placed the city's ethnic Korean population at over 170,000. Official census reports from 2000 have not yet been released publicly, to more than one half. Both Chinese and Korean are considered "official languages" of the city: ==Economy==

With its current population estimated at four hundred thousand, Yanji is also relatively young: the city was developed only in the nineteenth century Recent growth in tourism and overseas investment has helped to make Yanji a notably prosperous city. 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. and Taiwan, which has helped substantially in building the city's tourism industry. Yanji also hosts the Tumen River Area International Investment & Business Forum, a three-day exposition held annually since 2000. As a key hub for cross-border trade with North Korea and Russia, Yanji hosts a national-level Cross-Border E-Commerce Comprehensive Pilot Zone. The zone leverages the city's bilingual (Chinese-Korean) workforce and logistical advantages to facilitate e-commerce for small and medium-sized enterprises in Northeast Asia. ==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 new 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. 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. As of 2012, Yanji offers the most convenient road access to the Rason Special Economic Zone in North Korea. ==Education==

Yanbian University is a comprehensive university in Yanji, founded in 1949; it offers eleven programs of study, including four doctoral programs. The university maintains a full-time teaching staff of over 1,400, serving an active student body of over sixteen thousand. 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. and the Yanbian Medical College. Yanbian International Academy, the area school for foreigners, is located in Yanji. 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. The city was the eighteenth stop for the Olympic torch relay at the opening of the 2008 Summer Games. 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. ==Culture==

Two all-Korean television channels are produced locally, and others can be freely received from both North and South Korea. An annual Korean folk festival takes place each September in Yanji, featuring traditional Korean music, dance, painting, and sports. == Travel ==

Yanji was named "China's Excellent Tourist 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. 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. ==References==