Lüshunkou District (alsoLyushunkou District;旅顺口区) is a district ofDalian,Liaoning province, China. The district's area is 512.15 km² (197.74 sq mi) and its permanent population as of 2020^[update] is 398,579.^[2][1][3]

Lüshunkou 旅顺口区
District
View of Lüshun's harbor and town from Huangjin Mountain
Lüshunkou Location in Liaoning Show map of Liaoning Lüshunkou Lüshunkou (China) Show map of China
Coordinates:38°51′03″N121°15′25″E / 38.85083°N 121.25694°E /38.85083; 121.25694
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Liaoning
Sub-provincial city	Dalian
Area [1]
• Total	512.15 km2 (197.74 sq mi)
Population  (2020)
• Total	398,579
• Density	780/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard)
Dalian district map	Subdivisions of Dalian, Liaoning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Core 1 Zhongshan 2 Xigang 3 Shahekou 4 Ganjingzi Suburban 5 Lüshunkou 6 Jinzhou 9 Pulandian Satellite 8 Wafangdian 10 Zhuanghe Rural 7 Changhai Co.
Division code	210212
Website	www.dllsk.gov.cn

Lüshunkou is located at the extreme southern tip of theLiaodong Peninsula. It has a natural harbor, the possession and control of which became acasus belli of theRusso-Japanese War (1904–05). Japanese and then Russian administration was established in 1895 and continued until 1905 when control was ceded to Japan. During that period, it was world-famous and was more significant than the other port on the peninsula, Dalian proper.

Also formerly calledLüshun City (旅顺市) or literallyLüshun Port (旅顺港), it was formerly known as bothPort Arthur (Russian:Порт-Артур,romanized: Port-Artur) andRyojun (Japanese:旅順).

In English-language diplomatic, news, and historical writings, it was known as Port Arthur after a BritishRoyal Navy Lieutenant namedWilliam Arthur who surveyed the harbor in thegunboatHMSAlgerine in 1860.^[4]

During the period when theJapanese Empire controlled and administered theLiaodong (formerly Liaotung) Peninsula it was calledRyojun (旅順), theJapanese pronunciation of theChinese characters in the city's name. After the Japanese defeat inWorld War II, the city was under the administration of theSoviet Union, which rented the port from China, until 1950. Although the Soviets presented the port to the newPeople's Republic of China in 1950,Soviet Armed Forces troops remained in the city until 1955.

Central Dalian is some 40 km (25 mi) farther up the coast, sprawling around the narrowest neck of theLiaodong Peninsula (simplified Chinese:辽东半岛;traditional Chinese:遼東半島;pinyin:Liáodōng Bàndǎo), whereas Lüshun occupies its southern tip. (See Landsat Map below Zoomed – Lüshun City surrounds the lake-like structure clearly visible near the peninsular tip—the lake-like feature is the inner naturalharbour of the port, a very well-sheltered and fortifiable harbour to 19th century eyes.)

The Liaodong Peninsula is located northwest in relation toKorea, theYellow Sea to its southeast, theKorea Bay to its due east, and theBohai Sea (or Gulf) to its west.Beijing is almost directly (due west-northwest) across theBo Hai Gulf from the port city.

In the late 1880s, the German companyKrupp was contracted by theQing dynasty to build a series of fortifications around Port Arthur. Reportedly, this was after local contractors had "made an extensive bungle of the job".^[7]

Port Arthur first came into international prominence during theFirst Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895). Following Japan's victory over theImperial Chinese Army troops at theBattle of Pyongyang inKorea in September 1894, theJapanese First andSecond Armies converged on theLiaodong Peninsula by land and sea.Imperial Japanese Armed Forces war planners, ambitious for control of the Liaodong Peninsula and Port Arthur and also cognizant of that port's strategic position controlling the northernYellow Sea routes and the passage toTianjin, were determined to seize it.

On 20–21 November 1894, 15,000 Japanese troops defeated 13,000 Qing soldiers and conquered Lüshunkou. ThePort Arthur massacre resulted in somewhere between 2,600 civilians and 20,000 people including Chinese soldiers.

Japan went on to occupy Port Arthur and to seize control of the whole Liaodong Peninsula. As part of the terms of the 1895Treaty of Shimonoseki concluding the war, Japan was granted the Liaodong Peninsula but had to cede the territory when threatened jointly with war byFrance,Germany andRussia in what is called theTriple Intervention of 1895. This was seen as agreat humiliation in Japan.

TheRussian Empire in 1898coerced a lease from China of theLiaodong Peninsula and created the territory ofRussian Dalian. It gained railroad right-of-way to join the Liaodong Peninsula to theChinese Eastern Railway with a line running from Port Arthur to the Chinese city ofHarbin, and systematically began to fortify the town and harbor at Port Arthur.^[8] TsarNicholas II believed this acquisition of a Pacific port would enhance Russian security, and extend its economic influence. He was also falsely informed that theBritish Empire was considering seizing the port.^[9] Nicholas foundedDalny (laterDalian) near Port Arthur and also on the Chinese Eastern Railway. In 1902, the Russian viceroy de-emphasized Dalny, building a palace and cultural edifices at Port Arthur instead. All of these developments contributed to Japanese resentment towards Russia over competing imperial aims in Manchuria.

Ten years later, Port Arthur again played a central role in war in China. After theBoxer Rebellion (1900–01) had been extinguished by an internationalEight-Nation Alliance of troops, theImperial Russian Army refused to withdraw its reinforcements fromManchuria and instead began to fortify and garrison the entire route along the Southern Manchurian Railway. With this development, Japan proposed the two powers meet and discuss their respective roles in eastern Manchuria, as the area was considered being in their respectivespheres of influence. Talks were conducted between 1902 and 1904. While numerous proposals and agreement papers were generated between the two powers, Russia continued thede facto annexation of territory through fortification and garrison, if notde jure; while employingstalling tactics in its negotiations. In the end, with over two years of intensivebilateral negotiations having gotten nowhere in clarifying each country's rights, prerogatives, and interests in Manchuria, Japan attacked Port Arthur and theRussian fleet without declaring war in February 1904.

TheBattle of Port Arthur, the opening battle of theRusso-Japanese War, was fought in the heavily fortified harbor of the town of Port Arthur/Lüshun on 9 February 1904 when the Japanese attacked at night with torpedoes, followed by a brief daylight skirmish by major surface combatants.

By the end of July 1904, the Japanese army had pushed down the Liaodong peninsula and was at the outer defenses of Port Arthur. The fact that Japanese forces had closed to within artillery range of the harbor in early August 1904 led directly to the navalBattle of the Yellow Sea which solidified Japan's command of the sea, where her fleets continued to blockade the harbor. Virtually all the battles of the war until July 1904 were strategic battles for territorial gain or position leading to theinvestment andsiege of the port city.

The port eventually fell 2 January 1905 after a long train of battles on land and sea during which the Japanese occupied the whole of theKorean Peninsula, split the Russian Army, devastated theImperial Russian Navy, and cut off the source of supplies on the railway fromHarbin, culminating in the bloody battle known as theSiege of Port Arthur (June–January; some sources place the siege start in late July, a technical difference due to definitions).

After Japan's defeat of Russia, it took overKwantung Leased Territory and renamed Port Arthur to Ryojun. The Japanese-controlled Ryojun City had 40 districts. They built the war monuments on203 Hill andBaiyu Mountain. The Port Arthur–Harbin line became part of theSouth Manchurian Railway. After Japan created the puppet state ofManchukuo in 1932, Japan regarded its lease as being held from Manchukuo rather than from China.

The Chinese Lüshun City was established on 25 November 1945 to replace Ryojun. The city was a subdivision of a larger Lüda City and contained 40 villages in 3 districts: Dazhong (大众区;大眾區), Wenhua (文化), and Guangming (光明). In January 1946, Wenhua was merged into Dazhong, and the 40 villages were reduced to 23 communes (坊). In January 1948, the remaining two districts were merged into one: Shinei (市内区;市內區), with 12 communes.

Under theSino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance signed byJoseph Stalin andChiang Kai-shek, the Republic of China agreed to allow theSoviet Navy to maintain a base there in exchange for Soviet diplomatic recognition of theNationalist government. However, the USSR later used the port to assist theChinese Communist Party'sPeople's Liberation Army during theChinese Civil War, leading to theKuomintang's overthrow.^[10]

On 7 January 1960, Lüshun City was renamed Lüshunkou District, still under Lüda. In 1981, Lüda was renamedDalian, with Lüshunkou remaining a constituent district. In 1985, 7 of Lüshunkou's 9 townships were upgraded to towns.

Lüshunkou District administers 9subdistricts; all of the former towns were either abolished, merged or converted into subdistricts themselves.^[11]

The city's southern half alongLüshun South Road, central Lüshun and the Naval Port zone continue to be off-limits to foreigners although Lüshunkou District is thoroughly modernized. The World Peace Park opened on the western coast of Lüshun, becoming a sightseeing spot.

The universities in downtown Dalian are being relocated to Lüshunkou.Dalian Jiaotong University (formerly Dalian Railroad University) moved its software school to the area near the new port, and theDalian University of Foreign Languages andDalian Medical University relocated their main campuses to the eastern slope of Baiying Mountain, on Lüshun South Road.Dalian Fisheries University is in the process of moving its English and Japanese language schools to Daheishi, on Lüshun North Road. From late 2006,Sinorail has operated theBohai Train Ferry between Lüshun, Dalian, andYantai,Shandong.^{[citation needed]}

• Liaoning University of International Business and Economics

• Port Arthur massacre
• Kantō Shrine
• Rail transport in China
• Shuishiying
• Twenty-One Demands

• Official site