or Ch'ang-ch'un
City (pop., 1999 est.: 2,072,324), capital of Jilin province, northeastern China.
It was a small village until the end of the 18th century, when farmers from Shandong began to settle near the Sungari River . It gained in importance after the completion of the Chinese Eastern Railway. It came under Japanese control following the Sino-Japanese War of 189495. At the time the Japanese seized Manchuria in 1931, the capital of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo was moved from Mukden ( Shenyang ) to Changchun. Following World War II, the city suffered severely in the fighting between communist and Nationalist forces but experienced phenomenal growth under Chinese communist rule. It is now a centre for industrial expansion, as well as the cultural and educational heart of the province.