Changchun has experienced three development periods since it was liberated peacefully on October 19, 1948.

　　I. Transformation to a Production-oriented City

　　Changchun was the center of Japanese colonial rule in Northeast China, with prosperous businesses, restaurants, hotels and as well as various “clubhouses” purposefully built for the institutions and officials of the puppet regime. In addition to some construction businesses and makers of building materials, the publication, match, flower, oil, liquor, food, tobacco and other producers of consumer goods constituted the major part of industrial production. It could be defined as a typical consumption-oriented city. For more than two years of administration under Kuomintang, Changchun remained as a consumption-oriented city.

　　After 1948, the CPC Changchun Municipal Committee and the People’s Government of Changchun City decided to transform Changchun from a consumption-oriented city to a production-oriented one. Four years of hard work restored the city’s economy and brought it to a new stage of development. The output value of state-operated enterprises increased by 4.3 times in 1952 from 1949’s record; that of collective-owned enterprises increased by 20 times; and that of private enterprises went up by 2.6 times. The economic structure of Changchun City changed substantially as the national economy grew stronger after it getting back on track, thereby forming a socialist economic system that was pillared by stated-operated economy, supported by collective economy and supplemented by private economy. The rapid development of state-operated economy laid a solid foundation for the transformation to a production-oriented city. In the first Five-Year Plan period, the First Automobile Works (FAW) went operational, followed by a list of state-operated enterprises. Driven by the central enterprises, local enterprises developed rapidly, leading to the transformation to a production-oriented city from a consumption-oriented one.

　　II. Transformation to an Open City

　　After twists and turns of development, Changchun started transforming to an open city. However, things changed when the second Five-Year Plan was implemented. The national economy became imbalanced due to the impact of “leftist” thoughts, which in turn lowered the speed of industrial and agricultural production. After three years of adjustment, the industrial and agricultural production of Changchun City went upward, but the speed was slowed down again during the “Cultural Revolution” period. After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee, Changchun entered into a new era of development due to its insistence on economic construction, reform and opening up. After 1978, Changchun broken through the closed-off management system and established a city management mode with Changchun as center, counties as linkage and rural areas as foundation. This increased the city’s influence and attractiveness and meanwhile made it more open, thereby becoming to an open city.

　　III. Transformation to a Modern International City

　　In line with the decision made by the CPC Changchun Municipal Committee after summarizing the evolutionary experience of Changchun City, effort will be put into creating Changchun a modern international city within about 30 years. The CPC Changchun Municipal Committee has decided to take three steps, namely, foundation creating stage from 1993 to 2000, development stage from 2001 to 2015, and improvement stage from 2015 to 2020, to achieve the strategic goal of making Changchun such an important city in Asia-Pacific economic rim and even in the world economy that has highly developed market economy, highly advanced spiritual civilization, highly effectively infrastructure, high level management and high quality ecological environment.

　　Cultural Relics under National-level Protection in Changchun City

　　Eighteen items at eight sites featuring the typical characteristics from Bronze Age, Dynasties of Liao and Jin, the Puppet Manchurian Regime to the early period of new China in Changchun City were selected by the State Council as the seventh list of cultural relics protected at national level in 2013. The immovable cultural relics include Wujiazi Historical Site in Shanhe Sub-district Office of Shuangyang District; Lanyou Wupo Historical Site at Danchengzi Village, Biangang County of Dehui City; Nong’an Pagoda in Nong’an Township of Nong’an County; Ji-Chang Dao Yingong Shu in Changchun; Museum of the Imperial Palace of Manchu State and the military and political institutions of the puppet Manchurian regime covering such historical sites of the puppet Manchurian regime as Imperial Palace of Manchu State, State Council, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Communications, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Agricultural Development, Ministry of Culture and Education, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Japanese Army Headquarters; the Central Bank of Manchu State; Changchun Film Studio; and FAW’s buildings built in the first Five-Year Plan period.