Manchuria, or the country of the Manchus, is the north-easternmost division of the Chinese empire, bounded by the river Amur, the Usuri, the Russian Maritime Province, Corea, the Yellow Sea, and Mongolia. It embraces three provinces - Moukden, Heilung-chiang, and Kirin. Total area, 280,000 sq. m.; pop. 21,000,000. The east and centre are largely occupied by the Long White Mountains (8000 feet), whilst the northern province is crossed by the Chingan Mountains. The central parts of the country are watered by the Sungari, which after a course of 850 miles joins the Amur. The hills are rich in timber, pines predominating; in minerals, chiefly gold, silver, coal, and iron ; and in fur-bearing and other animals. The rivers swarm with salmon and trout. The climate is temperate in summer (May to September), but very severe in winter. The soil is extremely fertile. Of the population perhaps a million are Manchus, the rest being Chinese immigrants. The principal towns are Moukden, the capital; Kirin ; Harbin (or Khar-bin), junction of the terminal lines of the Siberian railway; New-chwang (q.v.); besides Port Arthur and Dalny, under Japanese rule. The Russian occupation of northern Manchuria was a main cause of the Russo-Japanese war (1904-5), of which southern Manchuria was the main theatre. The religions dominant are those found in China, though the original creed of the Manchus was Shamanism. In the 17th century a Manchu chief ascended the throne of China, and founded the reigning Chin dynasty. French Catholics have had missions in Manchuria since 1838, and Presbyterians since 1861. See books by Hosie (1901) and Whigham (1904).