Kwantung

Kwantung, also spelled Kwantung, is the historical name used for the Guandong region on the Liaodong Peninsula in what is now northeastern China. The term derives from the Chinese characters 關東 and was adopted in Japanese usage and older Western references to designate the area east of the passes, extending along the southern coast of the peninsula. The core of Kwantung centers on the Liaodong Peninsula, including the port cities of Port Arthur (Lüshun) and Dalian (Dairen).

The region’s modern-era history is closely tied to Japanese imperial expansion. In 1898, the Qing Dynasty leased a portion of the Liaodong Peninsula to Japan—the Kwantung Leased Territory—forming a base for Japanese administration and military activity. This area supplied strategic access to Manchuria and the sea approaches to northern China. The Kwantung Army, the Japanese military force stationed in this territory, grew into a powerful instrument of Japan’s expansion in the early 20th century and played a central role in the events leading to the invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and the broader occupation that followed.

Following Japan’s defeat in World War II, sovereignty over the Kwantung Leased Territory was restored to China, and the Kwantung Army was dissolved. The region is today part of Liaoning Province in the People’s Republic of China, with Dalian as a major city and port, while the historical terms Kwantung and Kwantung Leased Territory are primarily used in historical and scholarly contexts.

See also: Kwantung Leased Territory, Kwantung Army, Port Arthur, Dalian.