Xialuhe Korean Ethnic Township (simplified Chinese: 下露河朝鲜族乡; traditional Chinese: 下露河朝鮮族鄉; pinyin: Xiàlùhé Cháoxiǎnzú Xiāng), also known as Haroha Korean Ethnic Township (Korean: 하로하조선족향; Hanja: 下露河朝鮮族鄕; RR: Haroha Joseonjok Hyang; MR: Haroha Chosŏnjok Hyang),[3] is an ethnic township in Kuandian Manchu Autonomous County, Dandong, Liaoning Province, China.[1] Located 63.8 kilometres (39.6 mi) east of the county center,[1] the township spans an area of 258.8 square kilometres (99.9 sq mi),[1] and is home to 10,370 people as of 2010.[2]

Xialuhe Korean Ethnic Township 下露河朝鲜族乡 (Chinese) 下露河朝鮮族鄉 (Chinese) 하로하조선족향 (Korean)
Ethnic township
Xialuhe Location in Liaoning
Coordinates (Xialuhe Township government): 40°53′35″N 125°30′53″E
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Liaoning
Prefecture-level city	Dandong
County	Kuandian Manchu Autonomous County
Area [1]
• Total	258.8 km2 (99.9 sq mi)
Population  (2010)[2]
• Total	10,370
• Density	40/km2 (100/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard)

History

Throughout the 1920s on through the 1940s, the area of present-day Xialuhe was a hotbed of Korean independence armies, who often sparred with occupying Japanese forces.[4]

In 1958, Xialuhe Township was created.[1][3] Xialuhe was re-designated from a township to an ethnic township in 1987.[1]

Administrative divisions

Xialuhe is divided into 6 administrative villages.[5]

• Majiazi/Magaja (马架子村, 마가자촌)[4]
• Lianjiang (连江村)
• Tongjiang/Tonggang (通江村, 통강촌)[4]
• Chuangou/Cheongu(川沟村, 천구촌)[4]
• Shuanglian (双联村)
• Shuangguang (双广村)

Demographics

As of 2010, the ethnic township has a population of 10,370, of which there are 5,371 males and 4,999 females.[2] That year, there were 1,327 people aged 14 and under, 7,941 people aged 15 to 64, and 1,102 people aged 65 and up.[2]

A 2009 estimate placed Xialuhe's population at about 11,200.[4]

As of 2007, there were approximately 1,100 ethnic Koreans living in Xialuhe,[3] however, Xialuhe's ethnic Korean population has declined in recent years,[4] largely due to low birth rates, migration to urban areas, and emigration to South Korea.[4] By the 2010s, a local Korean language newspaper reported that many schoolchildren in Xialuhe cannot speak Korean.[4]

Education

Since the establishment of the People's Republic of China, a number of bilingual schools teaching in both Mandarin Chinese and Korean have been established in Xialuhe.[4] However, due to the decline in the local ethnic Korean population, a number of these schools have been closed or merged in recent years.[4]

References