Liaoning, China

Named after the Liao River that runs through the province, there are many things to do in Liaoning – a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost coastal province of the People’s Republic of China.

Historically a gateway between China proper and Manchuria, the modern Liaoning province was established in 1907 as Fengtian or Fengtien province and was renamed Liaoning in 1929. It was also known at that time as Mukden Province for the Manchu name of Shengjing, the former name of Shenyang. Under the Japanese-puppet Manchukuo regime, the province reverted to its 1907 name, but the name Liaoning was restored for a brief time in 1945 and then again in 1954.

Liaoning borders the Yellow Sea (Korea Bay) and Bohai Sea in the south, North Korea’s North Pyongan and Chagang provinces in the southeast, Jilin to the northeast, Hebei to the southwest, and Inner Mongolia to the northwest. The Yalu River marks the province’s border with North Korea, emptying into the Korea Bay between Dandong in Liaoning and Sinuiju in North Korea. Liaoning is also one of China’s leading provinces in research and education. As of 2022, two major cities in Liaoning ranked in the world’s top 200 cities (Dalian 49th and Shenyang 162nd) by scientific research output, as tracked by Nature Index.