Yanbian Prefecture Yanbian Prefecture, China Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Northeast China's Jilin Province covers an area of 42,700 km 2 . Yanbian, with a population of 2.2 million, became China's first national minority autonomous area in 1952. Jilin Province as a whole has a population of approximately 26 million. Yanbian is well suited for a range of seasonal crops, livestock and forestry. Average annual rainfall is 400-650 mm.
Agriculture is rice-based, but maize, soybean, tobacco, flax and fruits are also important.
Following agricultural reforms in the 1990s, Yanbian has become a surplus area of grain and other food, consistently producing over 600,000 tonnes of grain annually in recent years. Animal husbandry, particularly the pig and poultry industries, has grown rapidly in recent years. The area is China's principal producer of ginseng and other traditional Chinese and Korean medicine products. Minerals include petroleum, limestone, marble, silica sand, graphite, quartz, mica, rock crystal and volcanic rock. Currently only 300 MW is in use.