The Qing dynasty, sometimes called the "Manchu Dynasty," originated in the area of Manchuria. They were different ethnically from the majority of Chinese, who were known as the Han, and were closer in many ways to their cousins and neighbors, the Mongolians. The initial Qing armies included Mongols, some Han Chinese from the northern areas, and, of course, Manchurians. It is a long and complicated story, involving treachery, peasant revolts, armies, and extended warfare that may have killed more than twenty million people, but in 1644, the Qing declared their dynasty in the north of China and by 1683 had conquered all of China.

The Qing desired to keep Manchuria and attempted for many decades to keep others from settling in the expansive and resource-rich area. The Han Chinese and others were only permitted to settle there under certain rules, but as time went by, hard times in China (including floods, famines, earthquake, and epidemics) forced many Han Chinese and some members of other Chinese ethnic groups to settle in Manchuria. Mongolian and Manchurian landowners were more than happy to let these settlers in to work their lands, as Manchuria was not only underpopulated but exceedingly hard to live in-its extremes in weather are notorious.

By the early 20th century, not only had many non-Manchurian Chinese settled in the territory, but foreign powers and their businesses had moved in as well, along with immigrants. One of the most cosmopolitan cities in Asia at the time was the city of Harbin, where there was not only a sizable Chinese/Manchurian population but also a large number of Koreans and also a large Russian population. It was also filled with Jewish refugees from Tsarist-era pogroms, and, after 1917, Russians fleeing the Bolshevik Revolution and others working to build the Chinese Eastern Railway. Additionally, many Europeans, chasing riches in coal and steel, also settled in Harbin. Even into the mid-1960s, before the official falling-out between the Soviet Union and Communist China, many Russians called Harbin home. Today, a large number of Russian businesspeople live in Harbin, one of China's most populous cities.

The growth of European and Japanese economic, political, and military imperialism in China was not limited to the coastal cities of China, such as Shanghai, Tianjin, Fuzhou, Hong Kong, and its capital, Beijing. After the First Sino-Japanese War of 1896, the Qing granted sizable concessions to Japan in Manchuria. In short order, the Japanese began building railroads within the massive territory (which they claimed was done to improve the area for all living there, which was true to an extent), as well as factories and port facilities.

The Qing Grand Council was founded in 1738 by the Qianlong Emperor, who dismantled the existing Interim Council, which had been founded by his father to help him rule.