Dalian History

Dalian is a city bound up in the events of the creation of modern China, and it was only built in 1899. Due to its location far away from the central government, its economy and culture grown had not developed until recently. It was nothing more than a small fishing village until the end of the 19th century. Dalian in recent years has made its spectacular growth and development mainly as a result of its strategic location in both trade and military.

Since 1840, the British Empire had attempted to raid China primarily from the sea; many colonial countries of the time eyed China, and it was hoped to carve it up between the dominant European naval powers. Under this situation, the Qing government decided to build up their maritime defenses in order to protect against attack. The city of Dalian was an important passageway into China, its location of great strategic value. It was regarded as a portal to guard the capital, Beijing. The Qing government constructed loading bridges and fortifications with built-in cannons, and set up mining camps on the northern coast of Dalian Gulf. This development allowed Dalian grows from a small fishing village into a town.

In 1894, the Sino-Japanese War broke out. The Eastern Liaodong Peninsula fell to the Japanese and in 1898 Tsarist Russia leased Dalian Bay and Lushnkou. That year, construction started on Dalian harbor, generally viewed as the beginnings of Dalian city. In 1905, the Tsarist Russia transferred its concession over Eastern Liaodong Peninsula to Japan due to its defeat in the Russo-Japanese War. It remained with Japan until their surrender in 1945, and it was eventually passed back to the Chinese without compensation by the USSR in 1950. After the withdrawal of the Soviet army, China turned Dalian into a major shipbuilding center. Today Dalian has become an important harbor, as well as a city rich in the industrial, trading and tourism industries.