History of Dalian
Warning! The author of this page is not a history major. He is a civil engineer. Therefore, his study of the history of Dalian consists primarily of what he has heard in broken English while talking to Chinese people in the city plazas. Hopefully this page will serve to give a brief overview and to guide the reader toward better sources of more accurate information.
Brief Overview
|
|
Dalian is a relatively new city in China, and doesn’t have quite as much culture and history as, say, Beijing or Shanghai. It was established by the Russians about a hundred years ago and, in fact, Dalian comes from a Russian word meaning “a far away place” (Professor Yue 2004). This explains the non-Chinese looking buildings surrounding the main city plaza, Zhong Shan square. The large skyscrapers throughout the city were all built in the last ten years or so, and construction continues at an amazing pace. This is not unique to Dalian, but was seen in every city in China we visited. I heard once that there are enough roads under construction right now in China that, if they were all connected, they would wrap around the earth four times. I find that to be a pretty cool statistic and even if it’s not verifiable, I think it should be shared with as many people as possible. |
| Trade is very important in Dalian, as it is the largest ice-free port in Northern China (Tyler 2004). Dalian has become the software outsourcing center of China, and is growing rapidly. While we were living in Dalian, Thomas L. Friedman from the NY Times was also there doing a series of articles about how China is earning its place in the world economy. The full text of this article is included below. |
 |
 |
Dalian has won several awards from the United Nations for its environmental progress. The Chinese government has chosen to focus here as a starting place for instituting environmental regulations in China. The air quality is the best in all of China, and because of this and the multitude of parks and beaches, Dalian has become a popular vacation destination. |
| So, in summary, Dalian is not your Grandma's China. This is a hip "Peace Modern Town" that is growing like crazy. There are still people selling fruit on the streets and you will see the occasional horse-drawn carriage, but it very well could be parked next to a Mercedes or an SUV. Check out the links below for a more detailed history and read the articles for good background on the current events. |  |
Good History Links
http://www.dalian.gov.cn/i18n/en/intro/history.htm
http://www.macalester.edu/geography/courses/geog261/dalian/history/history_intro.html
Good Articles on China Current Events
"Doing our homework" Thomas L. Friedman June 24, 2004 NY Times