Manchuria

Manchuria, region of northeastern China comprising Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning provinces and part of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region; c.600,000 sq mi (1,554,000 sq km). Manchuria is bordered by the Russia, North Korea, and Mongolia. It is an important agricultural and industrial area. Historically, Manchuria was the home of the Manchus. Chinese settlement in the area increased steadily after 1900. It was a barren steppe until Western exploitation of its vast mineral resources began in the 19th century. In the 1890s Russia had declared an interest in the province; but Russia's defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–05) brought Japanese domination, first of Southern Manchuria, then, in 1932, of the whole country. The puppet state of Manchukuo was created and rapidly industrialized. In 1945 Russian forces occupied the area, dismantling the industries upon their withdrawal. Bitterly contested in the Chinese civil war, Manchuria was captured in 1948 by the communists, who redrew the provincial boundaries.