Dalian () is an important port city in the Liaoning province of China. It is located on the Liaodong Peninsula. It is the northernmost warm water port in China as well as the southernmost city in Northeast China. The name of the city translates into "Great Link", due to its strategic location on the coast of the East China Sea since it is used for trade with countries like Russia, the North and South Korea, and Japan. Because the port can be used all year, the Russian Empire took control of it in 1898 and built the Trans-Siberian railway to Dailan. The Empire of Japan later took it away from Russia.