Changchun

Industrial city and capital of Jilin province, northeast China; population (2001 est) 1,868,600. It is the centre of a fertile lowland agricultural district, and manufactures machinery, motor vehicles, and railway rolling stock and equipment.

As Hsinking (New Capital) it was the capital of Manchukuo from 1932 to 1945, during the Japanese occupation.

Economy China's first motor works was located in Changchun; it produced the ‘Liberation’ lorry, the mainstay of China's road freight transport, from the 1950s to the 1980s, after which the model was radically redesigned. Its railway equipment factories manufactured the rolling stock for China's underground railways. Light industries include food-processing and the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, electrical goods, rubber products, footware, cigarettes, enamelware, and textiles. One of China's major film studios is situated in Changchun.

History Changchun was first settled over 1,000 years ago, but was established as a city by Chinese settlers at the end of the 18th century. It sustained heavy damage during the Sino-Japanese War (1937-45). After 1949 Changchun developed as a major industrial centre, and in 1954 it replaced Jilin as the provincial capital.