Names
Modern Dalian originated as Qingniwa (Chinese: 青泥窪; pinyin: Qīngníwā; literally "blue mud swamp") or Qingniwaqiao (Chinese: 青泥窪橋; pinyin: Qīngníwāqiáo; literally "bridge over the blue mud swamp") was a small fishing village near where the Russians chose to build their commercial town for the Kwantung Leased Territory after assuming control in 1898.
During the period of Russian control (1898–1905), the city of Dalny (Russian: Дальний Dal'nij, literally "faraway" or "remote", rendered as 達里尼 Dálǐní in Chinese) was founded and built on the site of Qingniwaqiao. Under Japanese rule (1905–1945), the city was renamed Dairen (大連 / だいれん) after the Chinese name for Dalian Bay (大連灣). During this period, the city was also called Dairen in English from the Japanese.
In 1950, Dalian was merged with nearby Lüshun (Port Arthur) to form the city of Lüda (Chinese: 旅大; pinyin: Lǚdà), a name formed from the first character of each constituent's name and usually rendered as Lü-ta in English during that time. The city's name was changed from Lüda to Dalian (大連, the same Chinese characters as Japanese Dairen) on 5 March 1981, after the State Council approved it on 9 February.
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