Liao River
Liaoning, meaning "Pacified Liao", is named after the Liao River that runs through the province. The character 宁 is used frequently in Chinese place names including Ningxia, Xining and Nanning. The current name was first adopted in 1929, and restored in 1954 upon the merging of the Liaoxi ("West Liao") and Liaodong ("East Liao") provinces.