A) Manchuria was barren territory inhabited by a few nomads, the Manchus who used it as a preserve. The penalty for the average Chinese to be caught a few miles north of Beijing was death, if I recall correctly, not completely unlike Ghenghis Khan's idea of laying waste the Northern Chinese Plains to pasture. (After 1911, it was open season and practically a Oklahoma land rush during times of famine in parts south.) Drop an eminent domain purchase at low price to the Manchu owners, offer the land to those in Russia and those in Eastern Europe (mostly Slavic, of course), could do the trick of settling the land, quick, by westerners.
Just a note, 1911 is far too late; the aforementioned Chuang Guandong was already in full swing by the late 19th century.