FU-HSIN

Pinyin Fuxin, city, northwestern Liaoning sheng (province), China. It is located near the border with the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region and serves as a centre for the administration of the large Mongolian population of the border area. Until 1902 the border area remained a pasture ground reserved for the Mongolians. It was legally opened to Chinese colonization in that year, although many settlers had already arrived. Fu-hsin became a market centre on the border between the agricultural zone occupied by Chinese peasants and the pastoral zone inhabited by the Mongolians. During the Japanese occupation of Manchuria (193145), important coal deposits were discovered in the area. The mines were badly damaged during the later stages of World War II, and production virtually ceased, but in the early 1950s the mines were reconstructed and reequipped with extensive Soviet aid. The coal fuels a very large thermal generating plant, also constructed with Soviet aid in the mid-1950s. This power facility is linked with the south Manchuria power grid system. The surrounding areas also have large reserves of iron ore. Pop. (1990) 635,473.