Jilin, also Kirin, province in Northeast China, bordering on Russia and North Korea in the east, and occupying the central part of the historic region of Manchuria. bordered by the Primorsky kray (region) of Russia to the east, North Korea to the southeast, the Chinese provinces of Liaoning to the south and Heilungkiang to the north, and the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region to the west. The capital of Kirin is Ch'ang-ch'un.

As part of the northeastern homeland of the Manchus, who established the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), the region was officially closed to Chinese settlement until it was made a Chinese province in 1907.

Corn, soybeans, and sugar beets are the chief crops. Forestry is important, and the various mineral resources include coal, iron ore, copper, and lead. Changchun, the principal city, is also the capital and chief industrial center.

Major industrial towns are Baicheng, Shuangcheng, Changchun, Jiutai, Gongzhuling, Dunhua, Yanji, Liaoyuan, Hailong, Hunjiang, Tonghua and Ji'an.

Area 187,000 sq km (72,200 sq mi); population 27,280,000.

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