In the long history of China, there have been several waves of population migration, the most significant of which are three: "Crossing the Guandong", "Going West" and "Going to the South Seas".
The "Crossing the Guandong" is the largest and longest of the three migrations.
The so-called "Guan" refers to the famous Shanhaiguan, while "East" refers to the three northeastern provinces today.
There have been many times in history, but the migration that occurred in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China is particularly eye-catching, and this migration is an important period for a large number of inland residents to move to the Northeast.
At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, in order to protect the so-called "land of Longxing", a strict policy of "restricting development" was formulated in the northeast, and at the same time prohibiting the people of the interior from moving to the northeast.
This ban led to a significant reduction in the population of the Northeast and the abandonment of a large amount of land. Coupled with the harsh climate of the Northeast, it has long been regarded as a desolate place on the frontier.
For example, the exiled Ningguta mentioned in "The Legend of Zhen Huan" is located in present-day Mudanjiang City, Heilongjiang Province.
Later, with the threat of foreign powers and the weakening of the Qing Dynasty's control over the frontier, especially the covetousness of Tsarist Russia to the Northeast, the Qing Dynasty lifted the migration ban in 1860 and encouraged the people in the interior to move to the Northeast. The reason why this migration is called "crossing the Kanto" is that a large number of people in the plains during that period had no hope of making a living, so they had to leave their homeland and go to the Tohoku in search of new life opportunities. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, the plains were already saturated with land disputes, while the northeast was a fertile and sparsely populated land, which became a new hope for the people who could not make a living in their hometowns. Although the Qing Dynasty did not completely relax the restrictions on migration, there were still a large number of people who managed to go to the Northeast, so it was called "Breaking through the Guandong". The process of "breaking through the Kanto" was full of difficulties. The "Dingwuqi Famine" of 1877 and 1878 caused the Great Famine in the northern region, which killed more than 10 million people. Against this backdrop, some 20 million people have chosen to flee their hometowns and go north to survive. But for these people who have nothing and are in rags, the journey to the northeast is extremely difficult. 
At that time, there were two main migration routes: one was the dry road, that is, through Shanhaiguan and Xifengkou to enter the customs, enter Liaoning and then go to the Northeast Plain; the other is the sea route, starting from the Jiaodong Peninsula and reaching the Liaodong Peninsula overnight by sea; No matter which path you choose, it is still full of dangers and difficulties.
Why, then, do Shandong people prefer the treacherous northeast to the rich land of the south? In fact, the core lies in the land.
Although Jiangnan is fertile, the land has been developed to the point where there is little left to provide a livelihood for the fleeing people. On the contrary, the Northeast is vast and sparsely populated, and the land is fertile, making it an ideal place for reclamation.
In addition, the climate and farming habits in the south are very different from those in the north, and it is difficult for the people in the north to adapt. The climate in the Northeast is cold, but the land is fertile, which is closer to the environment of the north.
Moreover, at that time, the south was not a peaceful place, and wars broke out frequently, resulting in large-scale migration of people in the south, such as the people of Fujian and Guangdong "going to the South Seas". Therefore, for the people of Shandong, choosing to break into the eastern part of the country was a deliberate decision, and it was the most practical and feasible choice under the circumstances. In this way, "breaking through the Guandong" is not only a simple geographical migration, but also a profound historical memory, witnessing the Chinese people's will to survive in difficult times and their infinite vision for the future.
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