City Asia
Dalian
Dalian is a city by the sea in China. Ships come and go from its port.
Dalian is a port city in the northeast of China, on the Liaodong Peninsula in Liaoning province. Encyclopedias describe it as a port and an industrial center. China's 2020 census counted 4,913,879 people in its urban districts.
Dalian, in southern Liaoning on the Liaodong Peninsula (Columbia Encyclopedia), is a port and industrial center of northeast China (Larousse). Census 1 November 2020: 4,913,879 in its urban districts (City Population, from China's census).
Photo: Michael Saechang, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Dalian
Dalian is a city in China. It sits beside the sea.
Ships bring goods to its port and take goods away.
Dalian is a city in Liaoning, a province in the northeast of China. It lies on the Liaodong Peninsula, a strip of land that reaches out into the sea. Larousse describes it as a port and an industrial center.
China's census of 1 November 2020 counted 4,913,879 people living in Dalian's urban districts.
Larousse: port and industrial center of northeast China (Liaoning), making railway and oil-industry equipment. The Columbia Encyclopedia (entry updated 2016) places Dalian in southern Liaoning, on the Liaodong Peninsula by the Bay of Korea, and calls it the chief commercial port of northeast China. City Population, from China's census: Dalian's urban population (counted by district) was 4,913,879 on 1 November 2020; it notes that such a figure can cover more than one settlement.
- Country
- China
- Province
- Liaoning (Larousse)
- People in the urban districts (census, 1 November 2020)
- 4,913,879
- Known for
- its port and its industries (Larousse)
Towers above a park
In this photo, tall towers stand behind a green park. There is a Ferris wheel too!
This photo of Dalian was taken on 1 August 2009. In front, trees fill a park, with a round structure patterned like a soccer ball, a Ferris wheel and other rides. Behind the park, tall buildings rise into a hazy sky.
Wikimedia Commons files the photo under Dalian's Laodong Park. The photo is from 2009, so the skyline may look different today.
Commons: 'Dalian Skyline Enhanced' by Michael Saechang, from his Flickr account (license checked by a Commons reviewer, CC BY-SA 2.0), taken 1 August 2009, 07:48. Categories: 'Skylines in Dalian', 'Dalian Laodong Park', '2009 in Dalian'. In the picture: a park with trees, a round structure patterned like a soccer ball, a Ferris wheel and other rides; high-rise buildings behind under haze. No camera location is given.
Wikidata: Dalian Laodong Park (Q10901063), 1.26 km SSE of the city's map point.
- Photo
- Dalian's skyline, 1 August 2009, by Michael Saechang
- Park in the photo
- Laodong Park (Wikimedia Commons category)
- Laodong Park
- about 1.3 km south-southeast of the city's map point (Wikidata)
A city that keeps growing
More and more people live in Dalian. In 2020 it had more than twice as many people as in 1990.
China counts its people in a census every ten years. The counts for Dalian's urban districts show how quickly the city has grown: 1,884,310 people in 1990, 2,872,048 in 2000, 3,902,467 in 2010 and 4,913,879 in 2020.
That means the number of people in the city more than doubled in thirty years.
City Population (China's censuses; urban population counted by district, continuous built-up districts added together): Dalian 1,884,310 (1 July 1990), 2,872,048 (1 November 2000), 3,902,467 (1 November 2010), 4,913,879 (1 November 2020). From 1990 to 2020 the figure grew by a factor of about 2.6. The Columbia Encyclopedia adds that Dalian has taken in nearby Lüshun, with which it once formed the joint municipality of Lüda.
- Census 1990
- 1,884,310 people in the urban districts (City Population)
- Census 2000 and 2010
- 2,872,048 and 3,902,467 (City Population)
- Census 2020
- 4,913,879 (City Population)
A port on the Liaodong Peninsula
Ships stop at Dalian's port. Trains run to and from the city.
The Columbia Encyclopedia describes Dalian's harbor as large and well protected, with modern equipment for loading freight and good rail connections. It calls Dalian the chief commercial port of northeast China, and a port that exports oil.
Larousse says factories in Dalian make equipment for railways and for the oil industry.
Columbia Encyclopedia (entry updated 2016): a huge, well-protected harbor, modern freight-handling facilities and fine rail connections; the chief commercial port of northeast China and an oil-exporting port; a major industrial center with shipyards, fisheries, an oil refinery, textile mills, chemical and fertilizer plants, and factories making locomotives, rolling stock and electrical equipment. Larousse: industries making railway and oil-industry equipment.
- Harbor
- large and well protected, with modern freight-handling facilities (Columbia Encyclopedia)
- Railways
- good rail connections (Columbia Encyclopedia)
- Industries
- railway and oil-industry equipment (Larousse); shipyards, fishing, an oil refinery and more (Columbia Encyclopedia)
Cold winters, wet summers
Winter in Dalian is cold. Summer is warm, and July is the wettest month.
The World Meteorological Organization's averages for Dalian show cold winters: in January the average high is −0.9 °C, just below freezing. August is the warmest month, with an average high of 27.0 °C.
Most of the rain comes in summer. July averages 173 millimeters and August 148, about half of the year's 632 millimeters.
WMO World Weather Information Service, Dalian (China Meteorological Administration; the table states no averaging period): mean daily maximum −0.9 °C (Jan) to 27.0 °C (Aug); mean daily minimum −7.7 °C (Jan) to 21.4 °C (Aug); minima below 0 °C from December to March. Precipitation 8 mm (Feb) to 173 mm (Jul); sum of the months 632 mm, of which July and August give 321 mm (51%). Mean rain days 3 (Feb) to 12 (Jul).
- Average daily highs (WMO, Dalian)
- −0.9 °C (January) to 27.0 °C (August)
- Average daily lows (same table)
- −7.7 °C (January) to 21.4 °C (August)
- Rain and snow in a year (twelve months added up)
- about 632 mm
Ports, parks and schools
In the photo, a park in Dalian has trees and rides. The city has colleges where people study too.
Dalian is also a place to study. The Columbia Encyclopedia lists a technical university, a medical college and several specialized schools in the city.
In the photo, Laodong Park has trees, lawns and rides. The same encyclopedia adds a surprising fact: China's largest diamond deposit lies near Dalian.
Columbia Encyclopedia: Dalian is the seat of a technical university, a medical college and several specialized schools; China's largest diamond deposit is nearby (its words). Laodong Park (Wikidata Q10901063; Commons category 'Dalian Laodong Park') is the park in the photo. The WMO table puts the warmest month in August and the wettest in July.
- Universities
- a technical university, a medical college and specialized schools (Columbia Encyclopedia)
- Park
- Laodong Park, in the photo (Wikimedia Commons, Wikidata)
- Nearby
- China's largest diamond deposit (Columbia Encyclopedia)
Dalian on the map
Find China on the globe. Dalian is in the northeast, beside the sea.
Dalian lies at about 38.9° north and 121.6° east, on the Liaodong Peninsula in the northeast of China. The Columbia Encyclopedia places it by the Bay of Korea.
Measured from the city's map point, Laodong Park, the park in the photo, is about 1.3 kilometers south-southeast.
Dalian lies at about 38.92° N, 121.63° E (Natural Earth point; the Wikidata point for Q74881, given to one decimal place as 38.9° N, 121.6° E, is 3.66 km SW of it). Columbia Encyclopedia: southern Liaoning, on the Liaodong Peninsula, in the Bay of Korea. Wikidata: Dalian Laodong Park (Q10901063) 1.26 km SSE of the map point.
- Latitude
- about 38.9° north
- Longitude
- about 121.6° east
- Coast
- on the Liaodong Peninsula, by the Bay of Korea (Columbia Encyclopedia)
Amazing facts
-
In 2020, Dalian had more than twice as many people as in 1990!
Dalian's urban districts had 1,884,310 people in 1990 and 4,913,879 in 2020: more than two and a half times as many.
City Population (census): Dalian urban population 1,884,310 (1990) to 4,913,879 (2020), a factor of about 2.6.
-
In Dalian, most of the year's rain falls in July and August!
In the World Meteorological Organization's averages, July and August bring about half of Dalian's yearly rain.
WMO table for Dalian: July 173 mm and August 148 mm, 321 of 632 mm (51%).
-
There are diamonds in the ground near Dalian!
The Columbia Encyclopedia says China's largest diamond deposit is near Dalian.
Columbia Encyclopedia (Dalian entry, updated 2016): 'China's largest diamond deposit is nearby'.
Words to know
- port
- a town or city with a harbor where ships load and unload goods
- harbor
- a sheltered area of water where ships can stay safely
- peninsula
- a piece of land with water on three sides
- province
- one of the large areas a country like China is divided into
- census
- an official count of all the people in a country
- skyline
- the outline of a city's buildings against the sky
Discovery challenge
-
Dalian is a city in which country?
Dalian is a port city in which country?
Dalian, in Liaoning province, is a port of which country?
- China
- Japan
- Brazil
Show the answer
China
China!
China.
China.
-
Dalian is on a peninsula. Which one?
Dalian lies on which peninsula?
According to the Columbia Encyclopedia, Dalian lies on which peninsula?
- The Liaodong Peninsula
- The Iberian Peninsula
- The Arabian Peninsula
Show the answer
The Liaodong Peninsula
The Liaodong Peninsula!
The Liaodong Peninsula.
The Liaodong Peninsula, in southern Liaoning.
-
Which month is the wettest in Dalian?
In the World Meteorological Organization's averages, which month is wettest in Dalian?
WMO table: in which month does Dalian get its most precipitation, 173 mm?
- July
- January
- February
Show the answer
July
July!
July, with 173 millimeters.
July (173 mm).
-
What is in the park in the photo?
Which of these can you see in the photo of Laodong Park?
Which ride appears in the 2009 photo of Laodong Park?
- A Ferris wheel
- A ski jump
- A lighthouse
Show the answer
A Ferris wheel
A Ferris wheel!
A Ferris wheel.
A Ferris wheel.
-
How many people lived in Dalian's city districts in 2020?
How many people did China's 2020 census count in Dalian's urban districts?
City Population (census 2020): Dalian's urban population was about how many?
- About 4.9 million
- About 49,000
- About 49 million
Show the answer
About 4.9 million
About 4.9 million: 4,913,879!
About 4.9 million (4,913,879).
4,913,879.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Dalian on the Liaodong Peninsula in northeast China.
- Explain what a port does and why a sheltered harbor helps ships.
- Read census numbers to describe how a city grows.
- Read a climate table and find the wettest and coldest months.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why might a city with a good harbor grow into a large industrial center?
- What changes in a city when its population more than doubles?
- How would life be different in a place where half the year's rain falls in two months?
Try at home or in class
- Harbor test: in a tub of water, make waves and see how a curved wall of blocks keeps a toy boat calm.
- Bar chart: draw Dalian's four census counts (1990, 2000, 2010, 2020) as bars on squared paper.
- Rain gauge: put a straight-sided jar outside for a month and compare your rain with Dalian's July.
Key vocabulary: port, harbor, peninsula, province, census, skyline
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Dalian , Encyclopédie Larousse
- Dalian , The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed., via Encyclopedia.com
- China: Provinces and Major Cities , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from China's population censuses
- Dalian: climatological information , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service
- File:Dalian Skyline Enhanced.jpg (Michael Saechang) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.