The Eight Grand Ministries, also called Badabu (,

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

: ''bā dà bù''), refer to the former buildings of the

State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative authority of China, headed by the Premier * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of S ...

and its ministries of the

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...

government. They still exist almost intact on and around Xinmin Avenue of

Changchun Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin, Jilin Province, China, on the Songliao Plain. Changchun is administered as a , comprising seven districts, one county and three county-level cities. At the 2020 census of China, Changchun ha ...

Jilin Province ) , image_skyline = Changbaishan Tianchi from western rim.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = View of Heaven Lake , image_map = Jilin in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_a ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, are used by

Jilin University Jilin University (JLU) is a public university in the city of Changchun, Jilin, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. History Founded ...

's Medical School and others, and have recently become one of the highlights of Changchun's sightseeing, because of their impressive, combined Chinese, Japanese and Manchurian architecture.Changchun Attractions - Things to Do (Travel China Guide)
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Overview

The Eight Ministries originally referred to the eight ministerial-level administrative agencies under the

() of

. They were the following ministries: * Ministry of Public Safety * Ministry of Justice * Ministry of Economy * Ministry of Communications * Ministry of Agriculture * Ministry of Culture and Education * Ministry of Foreign Affairs * Ministry of Civil Affairs. According to the "Great New Xinjing City Plan", the Manchukuo government arranged most of the office buildings of its ruling institutions on Shuntian Avenue in Xinjing City (now Xinmin Avenue in Chaoyang District,

Changchun City Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin, Jilin Province, China, on the Songliao Plain. Changchun is administered as a , comprising seven districts, one county and three county-level cities. At the 2020 census of China, Changchun ha ...

) and its surrounding area. The office buildings were located on both sides of the avenue of 1,500 meters long and 60 meters wide (with a garden strip in the center). The northern end of this area was the construction site of the new Imperial Palace of Manchuria (the future Puyi's palace), and on both sides of the avenue to the south were the office buildings of the State Council of Manchuria and various government ministries. At the southern end, there was an office building of other general government agencies, next to Anmin Square (now Xinmin Square). This large-scale office building complex was constructed in the 1930s. All buildings had the oriental characteristics, with the traditional Chinese and Japanese style roofs, and were called the "Manchurian buildings". They were all on spacious sites, in an elegant and quiet environment, in magnificent shapes, and each with its own unique characteristics. They were surrounded by large green trees and constituted a representative block of the Garden City style of the "National Capital Construction" Plan of Manchuria. This long strip of scenic area was commonly called the "Eight Grand Ministries" () by the locals, and is now listed as a National Key Scenic Area. The new palace began construction at the northern end of the central axis in September 1938. After the outbreak of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

, its construction was suspended due to the financial constraints. By 1945, only the basement part of the main palace had been completed. In 1953, on this base was built a palace-like building of 30,000 square meters, which was used as

's Geology School (now the Changchun Geological Museum on Jilin University's Chaoyang Campus). The front of the future palace was originally planned as Shuntian Square, covering an area of 180,000 square meters, which was transformed into the green, grassy Cultural Square in 1996. The historical buildings of the "Eight Ministries" and their neighborhood are basically intact. In June 2012, Xinmin Avenue was selected as a Historically and Culturally Famous Street of China. In March 2013, the former buildings of the State Council, the Ministry of Military, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and Judiciary Building (Supreme Court, Xinjing District Court and Prosecutor's Office) were collectively designated as a

Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level A national priority protected site is the highest-level national protection for immovable cultural relics in China. The designation was first created under the 1961 Provisional Regulations on the Protection and Management of Cultural Relics, whic ...

. The following table shows the photos, then and now, and other information of the former buildings of the "Eight Grand Ministries" and related agencies of the Manchukuo government.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Manchukuo Politics of Manchukuo Tourist attractions in Changchun Buildings and structures in Changchun Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Jilin

Overview

See also

References

External links