Chaoyang Overview

Chaoyang is a prefecture-level city in Liaoning province of the People's Republic of China.

Within the prefecture there is a variety of mining. The Songling Mountains, where fossils have been found, are not far from here. Indeed, two of the most remarkable Early Cretaceous birds known to date were recovered nearby from Jiufotang Formation rocks and named Longipteryx chaoyangensis and Sapeornis chaoyangensis in reference to the city.

Chaoyang has a population of 3,340,000 and is located almost directly in between the capitol of the province, Shenyang, and the capitol of China, Beijing. It has a total land area of 1,970,000km². The area under Chaoyang's jurisdictional control is split up into two counties (Jianping, Chaoyang), two county-level districts (Longcheng, Shuangta), two county-level cities (Beipiao, Lingyuan), and the Harqin Left Mongol Autonomous County. The urban area where the municipal government office is located, which is comprised of the Shuangta and Longcheng districts, has a population of 300,000 and forms the core of Chaoyang.