Jīnzhōu

Jinzhou is the historic district of the southern Liaodong peninsula around present-day Dalian, distinct from the city of the same name farther west in Liaoning. Its position near the narrowing approach to the peninsula placed it within successive systems of frontier administration. The name belongs to a settlement and jurisdiction older than the modern port city of Dalian.

The Ming established Jinzhou in 1372 under the Shandong provincial administration. In 1375 it established Jinzhou Guard under the Liaodong Regional Military Commission, placing the locality within a garrison system. Under the Qing, civil administration again changed: in 1734 the Jinzhou inspection office was abolished and Ninghai County established under Fengtian Prefecture. These changes provide specific landmarks for the locality between the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries. They also explain why historical references alternate between Jinzhou and Ninghai. Later arrangements created after 1837 should not be projected back onto this earlier district.