Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture

Yanbian Prefecture 延边州 · 연변주
Autonomous prefecture
Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture 延边朝鲜族自治州 연변 조선족 자치주
Yanji, the prefectural seat of Yanbian
Yanbian (red) in Jilin (orange) and China
Coordinates: 43°08′N 129°11′E / 43.133°N 129.183°E / 43.133; 129.183Coordinates: 43°08′N 129°11′E / 43.133°N 129.183°E / 43.133; 129.183
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Jilin
County-level divisions	6 county-level cities 2 counties
Prefectural seat	Yanji
Government
• Party Secretary	Zhang Anshun
Area
• Total	43,509 km2 (16,799 sq mi)
Population (2010)
• Total	2,271,600
• Density	52/km2 (140/sq mi)
• Ethnic composition	64.55% Han 32.45% Korean 2.52% Manchu 0.28% Hui 0.13% Mongols
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Area code(s)	0433
Licence plate prefixes	吉H
Website	http://www.yanbian.gov.cn/

Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture
"Yanbian", as written in Chinese and Korean
Simplified Chinese	延边朝鲜族自治州
Traditional Chinese	延邊朝鮮族自治州
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Yánbiān Cháoxiǎnzú Zìzhìzhōu Yue: Cantonese Jyutping jin4bin1 ziu1sin1zuk6 zi6zi6zau1
Chinese Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl	연변 조선족 자치주
Transcriptions Revised Romanization Yeonbyeon Joseonjok Jachiju McCune–Reischauer Yŏnpyŏn Chosŏnchok Chach'ichu
South Korean name
Hangul	옌볜 조선족 자치주
Transcriptions Revised Romanization Yenbyen Joseonjok Jachiju McCune–Reischauer Yenbyen Chosŏnchok Chach'ichu

Yanbian (Chinese: 延边, Chinese Korean : 연변, South Korean transliteration: 옌볜) is an Autonomous Prefecture in northeastern Jilin Province, People's Republic of China, just north of the border with North Korea. Yanbian is bordered to the north by Heilongjiang, on the west by Baishan City and Jilin City, on the south by North Hamgyong Province of North Korea, and on the east by Primorsky Krai of Russia. Yanbian is designated as an autonomous prefecture due to the large number of ethnic Koreans living in the region. The prefectural capital is Yanji, and the total area is 42,700 square kilometres (16,500 sq mi).

The Prefecture has an important Balhae archaeological site: the Ancient Tombs at Longtou Mountain, which includes the Mausoleum of Princess Jeonghyo.

The prefecture is subdivided into eight county-level divisions: six county-level cities and two counties:

The above counties and cities are divided into 642 villages (边境村/邊境村).

In the Ming Dynasty, Yanbian was governed by the Jianzhou Guard-district (建州衛), and in the late Qing Dynasty the area was divided into the Yanji (延吉廳) and Hunchun (琿春廳) subprefectures. From 1644 to the 1800s the Manchurian administrators of the Qing state attempted to separate northeast China, politically and ethnographically, into a "Manchuria" to which they could retreat in case an ethnically Han Chinese dynasty regained control over China. However, this effort failed because of the trading and agricultural opportunities available to Han Chinese migrants in the northeast region which made it profitable to evade the rules, as well as later Qing relaxation of the same rules to discourage Russian encroachment.