Chaoyang (Chinese: 朝阳市; pinyin: Cháoyáng) is a prefecture-level city in western Liaoning province, People's Republic of China.

With a vast land area of almost 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi), it is by area the largest prefecture-level city in Liaoning, and borders on Hebei province and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to the west.

The area under Chaoyang's jurisdictional control is split up into two counties (Jianping, Chaoyang), two urban districts (Longcheng, Shuangta), two county-level cities (Beipiao, Lingyuan), and the Harqin Left Wing Mongolian Autonomous County. The total regional population is 3 million, while the urban centre where the government office is located has a population of 430,000 and forms the core of Chaoyang.

Known as China's 'fossil city', many important paleontological discoveries have been made in Chaoyang, and the Harqin region is the oldest currently known prehistoric site in northern China. Two of the most remarkable Early Cretaceous birds known to date were recovered in the vicinity of the Jiufotang Formation rocks and named Longipteryx chaoyangensis and Sapeornis chaoyangensis in reference to the city.

The name "Chaoyang" originates from a poem found in one of the oldest collections of Chinese poetry, the Shijing. "A wutong tree grew on a mountain. A fenghuang bird perched at the top and sang towards the morning sun" (Chaoyang's name means "morning sun" in Chinese). The eastern part of Chaoyang is home to a mountain that has been called Fenghuang Mountain since ancient times. In 1778, this mountain was connected with the poem from the Shijing and Chaoyang was given its current name.

Chaoyang has a long and rich history. The discovery of the over five-thousand-year-old Niuheliang Hongshan Cultural Ruins in the region has drawn attention to Chaoyang as one of the birthplaces of ancient Chinese culture. The area first appears in Chinese historical records as “Liucheng County” in the Early Han period of the 3rd century B.C. In 342 AD, King of the Former Yan, Murong Huang, made Chaoyang his capital under the name Longcheng ("Dragon City"), and the city remained the capital through the Later Yan and Northern Yan periods. The center of Longcheng was located at the old town of modern Chaoyang. Since this time, Chaoyang has functioned as a center of Buddhism in Northeast China, with the construction of Longxiang temple in 345 AD forming the beginning of Buddhist culture in the Northeast.

During the Sui and Tang dynasties, Liucheng (renamed from Longcheng) was the seat of Ying Prefecture (Yingzhou, 營州). It was a prosperous multi-cultural city whose inhabitants included the Khitans, Kumo Xi, Mohe, Shiwei, Goguryeo, Göktürks and Sogdians. The Khitan general Li Guangbi of Tang dynasty, who played an instrumental role during the war against the An Lushan rebels, was a native of Liucheng. The city went into a period of decline after the An Lushan rebellion. The Liao dynasty established Ba Prefecture (霸州) at Liucheng. As its importance grew again a century later, it was renamed Xingzhong Prefecture (兴中府). The city was abandoned during the Mongol Yuan dynasty.

The Mongols seized Chaoyang and surrounding regions. When they submitted to the Manchu Qing dynasty, Chaoyang was controlled by Chinggisid princes and descendants of Jelme. Their territories became Tümed Right Wing Banner, Kharachin Left Wing Banner, Kharachin Right Wing Banner, and Kharachin Middle Banner, all of which were under Josutu League.