Linjiang 临江市

History

Linjiang has long been a frontier town on the Yalu. In the Bohai kingdom (渤海国) it was the seat of Yalu prefecture (鸭绿江府), the kingdom's Western Capital. Its old name was Maoershan (猫儿山, also written 帽儿山). Linjiang County was set up in 1902, and a county town about 2.5 kilometres from east to west took shape. It became a county-level city in November 1993.

During the Linjiang campaign (临江战役) of the civil war, the Liaodong provincial party committee, government and military district were based in the town. Chen Yun (陈云) lived here from 27 November 1946 until June 1947 in a single-storey Japanese-style building that had housed the Japanese military police command in the Manchukuo years; it also served as the headquarters of the Northeast Democratic Allied Army during the campaign.

What to see

The Chen Yun Former Residence Memorial Hall (陈云旧居纪念馆), at 45 Nanguo Street inside the Linjiang Forestry Bureau compound, has one room of photographs and one of objects. In 2006 the State Council listed it as a national key protected site under the name 'former headquarters of the Four Defences of Linjiang campaign' (四保临江战役指挥部旧址). The Four Defences of Linjiang Memorial Hall and martyrs' cemetery (四保临江战役纪念馆及烈士陵园), together with the Chen Yun residence, are part of the Baishan red-tourism group on the first national list of classic red-tourism sites.

Setting and culture

The climate is temperate monsoonal and cold, with rain concentrated in summer; January averages -15.6°C and July 22.4°C. Film crews made twenty-one Chinese features here between 1953 and 1976, Visitors on the Icy Mountain among them.

Highlights

• Chen Yun Former Residence Memorial Hall 陈云旧居纪念馆: Chen Yun's base in 1946-47; national key protected site since 2006 as the Four Defences of Linjiang campaign headquarters.
• Four Defences of Linjiang Memorial Hall and Martyrs' Cemetery 四保临江战役纪念馆及烈士陵园: Part of the Baishan group on the first national list of classic red-tourism sites.