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Liaoning Province

Blue Magpie Urocissa erythrorhyncha ©Alister Benn Website
Birding Liaoning

Liaoning is a northeastern province of the People’s Republic of China. Its one-character abbreviation is Liao, which is an ancient name for this region, which was adopted by the Liao Dynasty (Khitan Empire) that ruled this area between 907 and 1125. ‘Níng’ means ‘peacefulness’. The modern province was established in 1907 as Fengtian province and the name was changed to Liaoning in 1929. Under the Japanese puppet Manchukuo regime, the province reverted to its 1907 name, but the name Liaoning was restored in 1945.Liaoning Province is located in the southern part of China’s Northeast. Liaoning borders the Yellow Sea (Korea Bay) and the Bohai Gulf in the south, North Korea in the southeast, Jilin Province to the northeast, Hebei Province to the west, and Inner Mongolia to the northwest. The Yalu River marks the border between North Korea and the Chinese provinces of Jilin and Liaoning. It empties into the Korea Bay between Dandong (Liaoning) and Sinŭiju (North Korea). The provincial capital of Liaoning is Shenyang.It is possible to think of Liaoning as three approximate geographical regions: the highlands in the west, plains in the middle, and hills in the east. The highlands in the west are dominated by the Nulu’erhu Mountains, which roughly follow the border between Liaoning and Inner Mongolia. The entire region is dominated by low hills. The central part of Liaoning consists of the watersheds of rivers such as the Liao, Daliao, and their tributaries. This region is mostly flat and at low altitudes. The eastern part of Liaoning is dominated by the Changbai Shan and Qianshan ranges, which extends into the sea to form the Liaodong Peninsula. The highest point in Liaoning, Mount Huabozi (1336 m), is found in this region.Liaoning has a continental monsoon climate, and rainfall averages to about 440 to 1130 mm annually. Summer is rainy while the other seasons are dry.

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Contributors
Organisations

  • Dandong Birdwatching Society

    Information
    Chinese only
Reserves

Abbreviations Key

  • NNR Dalian Spotted Seal Reserve

    InformationSatellite View
    A coastal area of the Bohai Sea, 20km from Dalian City, consisting of sea floor covered by pedestal rock of between 5 and 40 meters' depth and including over 70 islands and islets with rocky coasts and reefs…

  • NNR Shuangtai Estuary

    Observatory WebsiteSatellite View
    The estuary of the Liao River at Liaodong Bay in northeastern China, the site includes the essential part of the world's largest reed marsh..“Currently a nature reserve in title only”

  • NNR Snake Island (She Dao) & Laotieshan

    InformationSatellite View
    Its main protection targets are Pallas pit vipers, migratory birds and habitats of those species…

  • NP Qianshan

    InformationSatellite View
    Over a hundred different species of birds can be observed in the park including the rare black-headed stork.
Guides & Tour Operators

  • Alpine Birding

    Tour Operator
    Birding trips here are made for avid birders including yearly-run trips and new China birding trips developed by AlpineBirding team and guided by our bird experts in the best...
Trip Reports

  • 2011 [10 October] - Paul Holt, Terry Townsend & Peter Cawley

    PDF Report

  • 2012 [05 May] - Paul Holt & Terry Townshend

    PDF Report
    Terry Townshend, Bai Qingquan, Tom Beeke and I were lucky enough to take part in this trip that included two firsts for the Province – Kamchatka Leaf Warbler and Black-winged Cuckooshrike – plus some impressive counts of waders, including a high count of up to 19 Nordmann’s Greenshanks, Bar-tailed Godwits (10,000), Eastern Curlew (4000), Great Knot (4600), Dunlin (10,400) and Broad-billed Sandpiper (1117).

  • 2013 [10 October] - Paul Holt and Terry Townshend

    PDF Report
    …We had such a superb time that I was keen to visit Laotie Shan again in autumn 2012. I did just that and, arrived on the 5th September and spent three weeks in the area. Per Alström came out on the 20th and left at the same time as me – on the 25th. Terry arrived on the 22nd and was able to stay a day later than Per and me. Tom Beeke and Stephen Cairns joined me for a day on the 16th September while Leighton (Tian Yang) arrived on the 22nd and birded with us that afternoon and part of the following morning….

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