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Siping, Jilin

Prefecture-level city in Jilin, People's Republic of China

  • 4 min read
  • 7 chapters
​四平烈士纪念塔
Amarespeco · CC BY-SA 4.0

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History

Siping's history can be stretched to 3,000 years ago during the Shang dynasty. The Kingdom of Yan Ruins indicate that the Han Chinese People started moving into Northeast region of China during the Spring and Autumn period. Ancient ethnic tribes such as the Fuyu, the Goguryeo, the Khitans, the Jurchen, the Mongols, the Manchus, and Koreans have left behind cultural artifacts, including Hanzhou, Xinzhou, and the Yehe Tribe Cultural Artifacts.

Yehe Town in Siping is also the hometown of two empresses of the Qing dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi and Empress Dowager Longyu.

However, Siping was a place of little importance until the completion of the railway between Changchun and the port of Dalian in 1902. With a rapidly growing population, Siping became a regional commercial center. After 1907, Siping's economy experienced steady growth under the administration of the South Manchuria Railway Company. The construction of a railway linked to Baicheng in northwestern Jilin Province was completed in 1923, while a railway running south to Tonghua and to Korean Peninsula was built in 1939. A new town was built after 1921, going by the name Ssupingkai. After 1932, under the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, some agriculture-based industry including brewing, oil pressing and flour milling grew up. In the latter part of World War II, the Japanese completed a project in the construction of a refinery for the production of synthetic petroleum from coal.

Siping was the site of several major battles during the Chinese Civil War between the Chinese Communist and Nationalist forces from 1945 to 1949. After the war, Siping was virtually destroyed.

  • Battle of Siping, March 15, 1946 − March 17, 1946
  • Campaign to Defend Siping, April 17, 1946 − May 19, 1946
  • Siping Campaign, June 11, 1947 − March 13, 1948

Siping grew rapidly after the Communist government was established in 1949, being the third largest city in Jilin Province.

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