Liaodong Peninsula
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The Liaodong Peninsula (sim. ch. 辽东半岛) is a peninsula in the Liaoning province of northeastern China. Liaodong (Liaotung) means "East of the Liao". The Liao was a river during the Warring States that divided the Yan commandries of Liaoxi (Simplified Chinese: 辽西)(west of the Liao) and Liaodong.
Geography
The peninsula lies at the north of the Yellow Sea, between the Bohai Sea to the west and the Korea Bay to the east.
It forms the southern part of a mountain belt that continues northward in the Changbai Mountains. The part of the mountain range on the peninsula is known as the Qian Mountains.
The seaport of Dalian (formerly known as Lushun, or Port Arthur) is located at its southernmost point.
History
The peninsula was an important battlefield during the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895). It was ceded to Japan by the Treaty of Shimonoseki of April 17, 1895 but Japan was forced to give it up after the Triple Intervention of April 23, 1895 by Russia, France and Germany. This caused huge resentment among the Japanese people.
As a consequence of the Treaty of Portsmouth (September 5, 1905), which ended the Russo-Japanese War, both sides agreed to evacuate Manchuria and return its sovereignty to China, but Japan was leased the Liaodong Peninsula.