Geography of Dalian
Site and Situation
The site of Dalian is quite favorable. In fact, its region, the humid and subhumid warm-temperate north China region, was the "site of Lantian man and Peking man and the cradle of Chinese civilization, and it has been the political, economic, and cultural center of China for thousands of years (Songqiao, p. 108)." It is important to note that this refers to Dalian's physical region, not it's political province and region. The Liaodong Peninsula, upon which Dalian rests, is hilly in the north, but slopes down to Dalian in the south. There are 900km of coast, which contains both rocky islands and sandy beaches. The climate is such that hearty crops can survive the winter, and it is free of frost for 160-200 days (Songqiao, p. 113). Less formally, there are the beautiful beaches and scenic hills that surround the city. The climate is quite moderate, with winter lows in the 20s, leaving the port ice-free for shipping purposes. Also, the ground is geologically favorable for high-rise building. As far as situation, Dalian is strategically important cause it controls access to the Beijing/Tianjin area. Its deep port and well developed infrastructure also allow it to conduct extremely significant trade with other countries in the region, especially easily accessible North and South Korea and Japan. It has no shortage of products to trade. The city is the terminus of the rail network running through the northeast. The area is also important agriculturally and is a major source of all source of seafood. Ports and railways may seem a little old-fashioned, but the city has also constructed a fully modern expressway and has been expending resources to modernize its airport. Given these factors it is hard to imagine a more favorable geography for urbanization.
Here we see the administrative regions of China. Dalian's, the most northeasterly, contains much of the resource rich Dongbei. Dalian's physical region is mostly to the south and east and includes the Beijing region and continues south to just north of Nanjing.
Thanks to Lei Jiang for these great pictures from his Dalian site. Anothersite with some Dalian pictures is here.
Despite its northerly location, Dalian is quite a vacation spot. Visitors come from China, but also come from other countries in the region. The city enjoys the most favorable climate in the Northeast.
The region of Liaoning, around the city, is quite hilly and beautiful. Notice the foliage.
On a larger scale, we can here see the topographic regions of the country. The northeast. is mostly middle mountain (in light grey), but also contains significant plains (in white), basins, and low plateaus.
This is a map of economic development zones. In the northeast. there are two: a second-tier city-oriented zone and a first-tier inter-provincial region that includes the entire area.
This graphic shows the spread effects and zones of influence of Chinese cities. While Dalian's is smaller than most, it is extraordinarily rich.
This map helps us to see the distribution of resources in the northeast. They include coal, iron, molybdenum, chromium, manganese, gold, petroleum, and more.
Of course, none of these vast resources would do anyone any good without a way to move them. This map shows us that Dalian is the endpoint of the northeast rail network. Once in the city, resources can be used in manufacture, refined, or shipped domestically or abroad.
