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Why did Chinese farmers migrate to the Liao Plain in southern Manchuria?

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Map of eastern Asia highlighting Manchuria in northeastern China, which includes the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, and part of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The highlighted area borders Russia, Mongolia, and North Korea. — Manchuria The historical region of Manchuria shown with the boundaries of the modern-day Chinese provinces in its place as well as the portion of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region that is often considered part of Manchuria.

Chinese farmers migrated to the Liao Plain in southern Manchuria primarily to cultivate its rich, fertile soil. This migration was driven by several key factors:1

Economic Opportunity: The region’s natural resources and fertile black soils attracted an unending stream of land-hungry peasants seeking to improve their livelihoods through agriculture.12
Government Sponsorship: While the Qing dynasty initially attempted to restrict migration to its homeland, it eventually modified this policy to strengthen thinly spread garrisons against the eastward expansion of the Russian Empire. By the 20th century, the government actively sponsored the planned colonization of virgin lands.13
Regional Development: The expansion of the economy, supported by the construction of the South Manchurian Railway, created better opportunities for work and settlement.4
Push Factors: Migration was often spurred by political upheaval, famine, or population pressure in other parts of China, leading farmers to seek abandoned or uncultivated land elsewhere.3

Over time, this influx transformed the region from a sparsely populated frontier into a major center of international trade and industry.13