Why did the Puppet Manchukuo build its "capital" in Changchun instead of Shenyang, the place of Longxing in the Qing Dynasty?

Changchun, located in Jilin in the northeast, is actually a very young city. Changchun has only more than 200 years of history since its founding. However, after the September 18th Incident, it fell into the hands of Japanese imperialism along with the three eastern provinces. Changchun actually became the capital of Manchukuo, a puppet regime created by Japan, and was renamed "Xinjing". Among the three northeastern provinces, Changchun, which had only a population of 130,000 at that time, was almost a blank slate. Not only was its cultural, political, and economic value inferior to cities such as Harbin, but its historical status and significance were far inferior to Shenyang, the place where Longxing was established in the Qing Dynasty. . Although it was just a puppet regime, the nominal head of state of Manchukuo was Puyi, the successor emperor of the Qing Dynasty.

So, why did the puppet Manchukuo regime set its colonial center in Changchun instead of Shenyang, the place where Longxing was established in the Qing Dynasty?

Puppet Manchukuo Palace Museum

As we all know, Shenyang, known as Fengtian, has been the largest city in the entire Northeast for hundreds of years. It is also the political, military, and economic center of the entire three northeastern provinces. , with a population of 400,000 at that time. Before the establishment of the puppet Manchukuo regime, the number of Japanese settled in Fengtian had already exceeded 20,000. Especially after the September 18th Incident, the Japanese invaders immediately moved the headquarters of the Kwantung Army to Fengtian. Subsequently, Japanese political circles, military circles, and traitors all gathered in this city.

For this reason, as early as October 24, 1931, the Commander-in-Chief of the Kwantung Army proposed a proposal to locate the capital of the puppet Manchukuo regime in Fengtian. However, this plan was ultimately rejected because in the eyes of the Japanese, Fengtian was deeply influenced by the Fengcian warlords, which would lead to inconvenient management; Fengtian was once the ancient capital of the Qing Dynasty, and setting the capital of the new regime here would be a bit of a restoration of the Qing Dynasty. Suspicion. For these two reasons, it was difficult for Fengtian to become the capital of the puppet Manchukuo regime.

Old buildings of the Puppet Manchukuo State

As for why Changchun was chosen as the capital, the Japanese Kwantung Army mainly considered the following aspects. First of all, among the three northeastern provinces, Changchun, located in the south-central part, is located on the threshold of the Liaohe Plain and the Songhua River Plain. The climate with four distinct seasons is suitable for grain growth; it is also located at the connection point of the South-Manchuria Railway and the Middle East Railway, with railways extending in all directions network, giving it a very important strategic position; Changchun also has shipping advantages and can easily reach Japan and North Korea by sea.

Map of Changchun

Secondly, Changchun has abundant resources and cheap land prices, which attracted the attention of the Japanese Kwantung Army, allowing them to carry out more direct immigration activities. Changchun is a vast and sparsely populated city, and at the same time has vast fertile black soil. These agricultural resources are conducive to Japanese immigrants. Due to the short history of Changchun's founding, land in Changchun was cheaper among all Northeastern cities, which allowed Japanese colonists to frantically purchase and plunder land resources. Based on the above two points, Changchun, which is small in scale, has a small population, and does not have the burden of old city reconstruction, is conducive to the Japanese Kwantung Army to carry out a new step in urban planning and construction. They can even build Changchun into a city full of Japanese culture according to their own wishes. new city.

Changchun during the Puppet Manchukuo period

Finally, the Puppet Manchukuo regime chose Changchun due to political factors and the policy of heading north. Since 1907, Changchun has become one of the strongest strongholds of Japanese colonists in Northeast China. They opened commercial ports and set up consulates here. When the September 18th Incident occurred, there were as many as 1,000 Japanese living in this small town. Thousands of people. What's more, Changchun was less affected by the Fengjun forces and could hardly pose a threat to the puppet Manchukuo regime. This made Changchun an ideal city for Japanese invaders to supervise.

Furthermore, Japan’s purpose of establishing the puppet Manchukuo regime was not just to rule the Northeast. From a military strategic perspective, the Japanese army wanted to use the Northeast as the center to invade China’s customs areas and the Soviet Far East. This was a political overtone. The sparse Changchun became the most suitable city to be the capital of the puppet Manchukuo.