Liaoning (Liaoning Province) has a long history of the Chinese nation and one of the cradles of Chinese civilization, referred to as "Liao", meaning "Liao River Basin, always peace", the provincial capital of Shenyang City. Liaoning is located in the southern part of Northeast China, is China's northeast economic zone and the Bohai Economic Zone of the important junction, the Northeast is leading off the traffic arteries, but also in Northeast China and Inner Mongolia to the world, the importance of the Eurasia continental bridge connecting Portal and leading-edge areas. The province's land area of 146,900 square kilometers, population 43.15 million (as at the end of 2008), governs two sub-provincial cities (Shenyang, Dalian) and 12 prefecture-level cities.