Sinuiju

From Free net encyclopedia

Sinŭiju City
Korean Name
McCune-ReischauerSinŭiju-si
Revised RomanizationSinuiju-si
Hangul신의주시
Hanja新義州市
Short NameSinŭiju (Sinuiju;
신의주; 新義州)
Statistics
Population288,000 (2006 est.)
Area?
GovernmentCity in North P'yŏngan
Administrative Divisions(unknown)
RegionKwansŏ
DialectP'yŏngan

Sinŭiju (Sinŭiju-si) is a city in North Korea, on the border with China and is the capital of North P'yŏngan Province. Part of the city is included in the Sinŭiju Special Administrative Region, which was established in 2002 to experiment with introducing a market economy.

Contents

Geography

The border with China is marked by the Yalu (Amnok) River. The city is connected to Dandong in China via the Sino-Korea Friendship Bridge (or China-Korea Friendship Bridge). This is one of the only ways to enter North Korea. The city is a Terminus on the Gyeongui railroad line (known as the P'yŏngui in the North) and is 25 miles (40km) from the mouth of the Yalu River.

History

Developed as a major settlement during the Japanese occupation (1910-45) at the terminus of a railway bridge across the Yalu River. It is located 7 miles west of Uiju, the old city from whos name Sinuiju (meaning New Uiju) derives. As an open port it grew commercially with the logging industry which uses the Yalu River to transport lumber. Additionally a chemical industry developed after the hydroelectric Sup'ung Dam was built further up the river. In the course of the Korean War the city sustained heavy damage from aerial bombardment but the city has been rebuilt.

Transportation

Sinuiju can be reached from P'yongyang by air, having a 1.2 km runway, or electric railway and road. It is also connected with the Chinese city of Dandong (renamed from Andong/Antung) in Liaoning Province (People's Republic of China) by the Yalu River Bridge which is 944 m long (3,097 feet) from end to end, and through the Manchuria Railway links up with the Trans-Siberian railway.

Places

Facilities in Sinuiju include Sinuiju High School, Sinuiju Commercial High School, Eastern Middle School, Sinuiju Light Industry University and the Sinuiju University of Education. Scenic sites include the Tonggun Pavilion, Waterfall, and Hot Springs.

There also is a "ferris wheel" overlooking the Yalu River. It is never in use, and was built seemingly as propaganda.

Industry

An important light industry center in North Korea it has a plant manufacturing enameled ironware as well as a textile mill, paper mill and an afforestation factory. Much of North Koreas trade with China takes place through Sinuiju. Its southwest harbour has a shipyard, although the shipyard's main function is seemingly to dismantle ships for scrap metal and other usable materials rather than building new ships..

See also

External links

de:Sinŭiju ko:신의주시 nl:Sinuiju ja:新義州市 sv:Sinuiju zh:新义州