Jilin

Province of northeast China, bounded to the northeast by Heilongjiang, to the southeast by Russia, to the south by North Korea, to the southwest by Liaoning, and to the northwest by Inner Mongolia; area 187,000 sq km/72,000 sq mi; population (2000 est) 27,280,000. The capital is Changchun, and other cities and towns include Jilin, Tonghua, Baicheng, and Liaoyuan. Major industries include coal, iron ore, engineering, food-processing, and chemicals; agricultural products include maize, sorghum, soybeans, and millet.

History

Topography The western part of the province is mainly lowland but the eastern parts are more mountainous. The major river is the Songhua.

Climate Jilin experiences long, cold winters, with January average temperatures of around −16°C/3°F. Summers are humid with July temperatures averaging around 21°C/70°F. The average annual rainfall varies from 350 mm/14 in in the west to 1,000 mm/40 in in the mountains of the east; precipitation falls mainly in the summer months.

Economy The lowlands are intensively cultivated. The hills are well wooded and contain important lumbering centres. Furs, such as sable, are also produced. Ginseng is grown, much of it for export. Maize is processed to make starch, glucose, and other products.

Mineral resources include coal, mainly for local consumption; iron ore, which supports steel production at Anshan; and smaller deposits of copper, lead, zinc, and silver. Chanchun and Jilin have large engineering and chemical industries.