Study in Anshan
Most of what students need to know about daily life comes down to the city around the campus: its climate, how people get around, and what there is to do. The following sections describe Anshan, where Anshan Normal University is located.
Geography
Located north of the Liao River plains, Anshan has wide flat lands in the west and central regions that develop into hilly and mountainous terrain on the southeastern fringes, which is bounded by the Qian Mountains and contains the famous Qianshan National Park. The region is rich in minerals including iron ore, coal, magnesite, talcum and jade. The plains of western Anshan have large flat fertile fields ideal for agriculture, with 24,480 hectares (60,500 acres) of arable land accounting for 26.4% of its total land area. One such agricultural product that Anshan has become renowned for is the Nanguo pears (Chinese: 南果梨, Pyrus ussuriensis c.v. Nanguo), nicknamed the "king of pears". Anshan was used as a travel post with motels during the Ming Dynasty (Chinese: 明朝) for travellers who passed by on work duty.
Climate
Anshan has a monsoon-influenced humid continental climate (Köppen Dwa) characterised by hot, humid summers, due to the monsoon, and rather long, cold, and arid winters, due to the Siberian anticyclone. The four seasons here are distinctive. Nearly half of the annual rainfall occurs in July and August. The monthly 24-hour average temperatures ranges from −7.6 °C (18.3 °F) in January to 25.9 °C (78.6 °F) in July, while the annual mean is 10.6 °C (51.1 °F). Sunshine is generous and amounts to 2,595.4 hours annually, while relative humidity averages 55%, ranging from 44% in April to 71% in July and August. Extreme temperatures have ranged from −26.9 °C (−16.4 °F) up to 38.2 °C (100.8 °F).
Economy
The north east of China is a major industrial zone and Anshan is one of the key sites of the north east. Anshan is in the midst of a at least a quarter of China's iron and coal resources. The city is renowned as "China's capital of iron and steel". Prior to the development of the Iron and Steel industries, Anshan was a relatively small city of little importance. As the steel mills expanded, so to did the city. Spin off industries developed alongside the steel plant making the area a centre of heavy industry.
As a joint Sino-Japanese venture, Anshan Zhenzing Iron Ore Company Unlimited was started in Anshan in 1918. When Japan occupied Northeast China in 1931, these mills were turned into a Japanese owned monopoly. Anshan subsequently became part of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo and additional industries developed around the iron and steel mills. Due to its mills, the city became a significant strategic industrial hub during World War II and as such, was subject to constant Allied bombing during the war.
Total production of processed iron in Manchuria reached 1,000,000 tonnes in 1931–32, of which almost half was made by Shōwa Steel in Anshan. Iron production grew to 7,000,000 tonnes in 1938 and by 1941, Shōwa Steel Works had a total capacity production of 1,750,000 tonnes of iron bars and 1,000,000 tonnes of processed steel. By 1942, Anshan's Shōwa Steel Works total production capacity reached 3,600,000 tonnes, making it one of the major iron and steel centers in the world.
Transportation
Anshan has no river or sea port. The nearby military airport, Anshan Teng'ao Airport (AOG), also accepts commercial domestic flights. Currently there are five routes in operation, Anshan–Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Nanjing, with one flight each per day throughout the year. Anshan Teng'ao Airport is 15 km (9 mi) southwest of the city centre. In addition to the small terminal building at the airport, there is also a city terminal situated just off Qianshan Road in Tiexi district. Passengers may buy tickets and check-in at the city terminal, from which they are taken by coach to the main airport terminal. The nearest other major commercial airports are Shenyang Taoxian International Airport (SHE), about 90 km (56 mi) to the north and Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport about 270 km (170 mi) to the south.
The city is beside the Shenyang–Dalian Expressway (part of the G15 Shenyang–Haikou Expressway), a privately funded eight-lane tolled highway, and was the first road of its kind in mainland China. The Liaozhong Ring Expressway (G91) passes just a few kilometers north of Anshan city. It connects east to Benxi and west onto the Jingshen Expressway (G1). The Panhai and Danxi Expressways (together forming the G16) pass through Anshan's counties of Haicheng and Xiuyan, connecting them to Yingkou and Panjin in the west and Dandong to the east.
Anshan is connected to the Chinese rail network with rail routes to Beijing, Dalian, and to the northeastern provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang as well as to eastern Inner Mongolia, and even a direct, albeit slow, train to Hong Kong. As of December 2012, the new Harbin–Dalian High-Speed Railway serves Anshan West Railway Station and Haicheng West Railway Station. It connects south to Dalian and north east to Shenyang, Changchun and Harbin. This line was hailed as the world's first alpine high-speed rail line. In summer it runs at its full speed of 300 km/h but in winter speeds are restricted to 200 km/h. High-speed services also run via Anshan to Beijing. Tai'an county of Anshan is served by another high-speed rail line linking Shenyang to Beijing.