page_title: Anshan
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Anshan / History
caption_attribution_description: English: City gate of Anshan Cheng. Located just south of modern Anshan city is the old walled city of Anshan Cheng. This fortified town or city dates to the Ming dynasty and was a staging post on the road between Haicheng and Liaoyang cities (then the major cities in the region.)
context_page_description: Anshan is an inland prefecture-level city in central-southeast Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, about 92 kilometres south of the provincial capital Shenyang. It is Liaoning's third-most populous city with a population of 3,584,000 people, and covers an area of about 9,252 km² spanning 133 km from east to the west. The city's name came from the horse saddle-like shape of a nearby mountain south of the city, which can be seen on the left about five minutes before the northbound train arrives at Anshan railway station. Anshan is home to the Anshan Iron and Steel Group, one of the largest steel producers in China. Anshan is sister city with Sheffield, United Kingdom.
  Anshan had a population of 3.65 million at the 2010 census. The built-up area encompassing four Anshan urban districts and urban Liaoyang was home to more than 2.17 million inhabitants in 2010.
  Anshan holds one-third of the world's supply of talcum and a quarter of the world's reserves of magnesite. Anshan also produced the largest ever jade stone, now a local tourist attraction carved as a Buddha statue.
context_section_description: The area of Anshan has been inhabited since prehistoric times.  The area remained of little significance, a small city in Liaodong province, overshadowed by neighbouring Liaoyang city, until the mid 20th Century.  In 1587 Anshan was fortified by the Ming Dynasty to combat the growing power of the Manchu.  The city was burnt down during the Boxer Rebellion, and was destroyed again in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905). As a result of this war, Japan had gained influence in Liaoning and was engaged in industrialising the region. Anshan lay beside the new South Manchuria Railway line that ran from the port of Dalian to the major city of Shenyang. As a joint Sino-Japanese venture, Anshan Zhenzing Iron Ore Company Unlimited was started in Anshan in 1918. After the Mukden Incident in 1931, Japan occupied the northeast of China. The mills were turned into a Japanese owned monopoly. In 1933, the site was expanded to include steel production and the company was renamed Showa Steel Works. Anshan became part of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. Additional industries developed around the iron and steel mills. The city of Anshan grew significantly in size around this new industrial site.
  Anshan had become one of the largest producers of iron and steel in Asia if not the world. It was therefore of strategic importance in the Pacific War, and was subject to several attacks by B-29 Superfortress strategic bombers of the USAAF. The Japanese Army detached the 1st Chutai (unit) of 104th Sentai (squadron) of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force, to Anshan, with other air squadrons for industrial defense purposes. Although this unit was equipped with modern Nakajima Ki-84 Ia (Manshu Type) Hayate "Frank" fighters, manufactured by Manshūkoku Hikōki Seizo KK, the plant suffered heavy damage from the air raids, losing up to 30% of its capacity.
  At the end of the war, Soviet Red Army forces launched Operation August Storm, which captured Manchuria from the Japanese. The Soviets looted the ruins of Shōwa Steel Works for anything that could be taken back to the Soviet Union. With the defeat of Japan in 1945, Anshan was returned to China along with the rest of Chinese Manchuria. However, peace had not yet arrived. Civil war continued between the Chinese Nationalist Government and the Communist People's Liberation Army (PLA). The city of Anshan was the scene of one of the battles of this war. The city was taken by the PLA on February 19, 1948. A monument in Lieshishan park commemorates the battle.
  The northeast of China was marked out to become a major industrial centre for the new People's Republic of China. Anshan was set to become a key part of this industrial development. The steel mills had been damaged during the wars. In December 1948, the Anshan Iron and Steel Company—also known as Angang—was founded. Production in the newly repaired steel plant resumed on July 9, 1949. The plant was expanded to become the largest steel producer in China. Other industries setup alongside the steel plant including mining for coal, iron and other minerals. This industrial wealth had an environmental cost. The open-hearth furnaces of the steel mill created large amounts of dust and other pollution. Along with its growing reputation as a major steel producer, Anshan was also gaining a reputation as a dirty, smelly town.
  Anshan became a formal administrative region under the Northeastern People's Government (later renamed as the Northeastern Administration Commission) in November, 1949.
  Anshan is reported to have served as a base for Soviet MIG fighter aircraft and pilots during the Korean War (1950–1953) in air combat operations against US/UN forces.
  On March 12, 1953, the city became a municipality under the Central Government direct administration. Haicheng County and Xiuyan County were subordinated to Liaodong Province. Tai'an County was subordinated to Liaoxi Province. August 22, 1954, the central government decided that Anshan should be administered by Liaoning Province. The State Council confirmed that Anshan should be in charge of Xiuyan County and H
caption: Anshan old city gate
exif: {"Image Make": "FUJIFILM", "Image Model": "FinePix S5700 S700", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Digital Camera FinePix S5700 S700 Ver1.00", "Image DateTime": "2011:02:11 13:08:51", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "300", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 50, 53, 48, 0, 0, 2, 0, 2, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "4084", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5813", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/220", "EXIF FNumber": "34/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Landscape Mode", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "64", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2011:02:11 13:08:51", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2011:02:11 13:08:51", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "4", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "39/5", "EXIF ApertureValue": "11/2", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "91/10", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "18/5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Average", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "63/10", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3072", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2304", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "984", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "5376", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "5376", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "3", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Landscape", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}