As the southernmost province among the three provinces in Northeast China, Liaoning boasts a excellent location on the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Gulf. It also is the gateway to the Korean Peninsula and faces Japan. Through its history, the province has been strongly influenced by minority groups. As early as the 10th century, the Qidan people invaded this region and established the Liao Dynasty. Two centuries later, Mongolians poured in and later founded the Yuan Dynasty. During the Ming Dynasty, Han immigration from the south was required to reinforce the central administration. But the re-emergent Manchus overcame this and later founded China's last feudal empire. Around the end of the 19th century, Russian came and built the South Manchurian Railway to facilitate the transport of raw materials of heavy industry output. With defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, the Russians reluctantly retreated and the Japanese dominated this province and most of Northeast China until being run out by a coalition of Chinese forces. The Communists controlled Liaoning after 1948, using the heavy-industry base to play a critical role in the stabilization of the newly-founded regime. Now Liaoning is open to visitors and businesses to come experience Northeast China¡¯s hospitality and culture at it¡¯s best.
