Port Arthur,

Port Arthur, or LUSHUNKO, a naval station and arsenal on the peninsula stretching south into the Gulf of Pe-chi-lí, opposite that of Wei-hai-wei, on the Shantung promontory to the south, together commanding the entrance to the gulf. The English name is derived from the captain of one of Her Majesty's ships employed in surveying the coasts of Corea and Manchuria. In the middle of the century a miserable fishing village, the port was fortified and provided with docks, electric light, a lighthouse, &c., with the help of German engineers. It was taken by the Japanese in November 1894; and in 1898 it and Ta-lien-wan, on the east coast of the peninsula, were 'leased' to Russia (nominally for 25 years, with power to extend the term). Port Arthur became a naval port closed to all but Russian and Chinese ships; part of Ta-lien-wan is similarly closed. Wei-hai-wei, taken by the Japanese in January 1895, was held by them till 1898, when it was taken over by Britain, to be held on the same conditions as Port Arthur by Russia. The harbour is an important coaling-station, and is to be the Pacific terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway.