Heilongjiang ()
formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a
province in
northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in
Mohe City along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the junction of the
Amur and
Ussuri rivers).
The province is bordered by
Jilin to the south and
Inner Mongolia to the west. It also
shares a border with
Russia (
Amur Oblast,
Jewish Autonomous Oblast,
Khabarovsk Krai
Khabarovsk Krai ( rus, Хабаровский край, r=Khabarovsky kray, p=xɐˈbarəfskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia. It is geographically located in the Russian Far East and is a part of the Far Eastern Federal District ...
,
Primorsky Krai and
Zabaykalsky Krai) to the north and east. The capital and the largest city of the province is
Harbin
Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...
. Among Chinese provincial-level
administrative divisions, Heilongjiang is the
sixth-largest by total area, the
15th-most populous, and the
second-poorest by GDP per capita.
The province takes its name from the
Amur River
The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...
(see the etymology section below for details) which marks
the border between the
People's Republic of China and
Russia.
Heilongjiang has significant agricultural production,
and raw materials, such as timber, oil and coal.
Etymology
The province takes its name from the
Amur River
The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...
, whose Mandarin name is ''Heilongjiang'' which is a literal and same-word-order translation of "black
dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
river". ''Hei'' comes from qara/hara/har, a common
Altaic language cognate
In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...
meaning "black". ''Long'' comes from the Mandarin word for "dragon". ''Jiang'' means "river" in Mandarin.
History
Ancient Chinese records and other sources state that Heilongjiang was inhabited by people such as the
Sushen,
Buyeo, the
Mohe, and the
Khitan.
Mongolic
Donghu people lived in
Inner Mongolia and the western part of Heilongjiang. Some names are Manchu or Mongolian. The eastern portion of Heilongjiang was ruled by the
Bohai Kingdom
Balhae ( ko, 발해, zh, c=渤海, p=Bóhǎi, russian: Бохай, translit=Bokhay, ), also rendered as Bohai, was a multi-ethnic kingdom whose land extends to what is today Northeast China, the Korean Peninsula and the Russian Far East. It wa ...
between the 7th and 10th centuries, followed by the Khitan
Liao dynasty. The Jurchen
Jin dynasty (1115–1234)
The Jin dynasty (,
; ) or Jin State (; Jurchen: Anchun Gurun), officially known as the Great Jin (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 1115 and 1234. Its name is sometimes written as Kin, Jurchen Jin, Jinn, or Chin
in ...
that subsequently ruled much of north China arose within the borders of modern Heilongjiang.
Heilongjiang as an administrative entity was created in 1683, during the
Kangxi
The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...
era of the
Manchu
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
Qing Dynasty, from the northwestern part of the
Jilin province.
This Heilongjiang Province only included the western part of today's Heilongjiang Province, and was under the supervision of the General of Heilongjiang (Sahaliyan Ula i Jiyanggiyūn) (the title is also translated as the Military Governor of Heilongjiang; ''jiyanggiyūn'' is the Manchu reading of the Chinese word ; "military leader, general" and is cognate with
Japanese ''
shōgun''), whose power extended, according to the
Treaty of Nerchinsk, as far north as the
Stanovoy Mountains. The eastern part of what's today Heilongjiang remained under the supervision of the General of Jilin (Girin i Jiyanggiyūn), whose power reached the
Sea of Japan. These areas deep in
Manchuria were closed off to
Han Chinese migration.
The original seat of the Military Governor of Heilongjiang, as established in 1683, was in Heilongjiang City (also known as
Aigun or
Heihe, or, in
Manchu
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
, Saghalien Ula), located on the Amur River. However, already in 1690 the seat of the governor was transferred to
Nenjiang (Mergen) on the
Nen River
The Nen River or Nenjiang (), or Nonni () is a river in Northeast China. The Nen River flows through the northern part of Heilongjiang Province and the northeastern section of Inner Mongolia, some parts of the river forming the border between the ...
, and, in 1699, further south to
Qiqihar. According to modern historians, the moves may have been driven by supply considerations: Nenjiang and Qiqihar are connected by a convenient waterway (Nen River) with southern Manchuria, whereas accessing Aigun (Heihe) would require either sailing all the way down the
Sungari River until its confluence with the Amur and then up the Amur to Heihe, or using a
portage
Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...
over the Lesser Xing'an Mountains between the Nen River valley and the Amur valley. An additional advantage of Qiqihar may have been its location at the junction of a northbound road (to Nenjiang) and a westbound one (to Mongolia), enabling its garrison to defend both against the Russians and the Ölöt
Mongols.
Little Qing Military presence existed north of Aigun. According to the 18th- and early-20th-century European sources and the reports of the Russians in the 1850s, the farthest Qing "advance guard" post was at Ulusu-Modon (Ulussu-Mudan) ( ''Wūlǔsūmùdān''), near the Amur River's famous S-shaped meander. (The post was on the left (north) bank of the river, lost to the Russians in 1860.)
In 1858 and 1860, the
Qing
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...
government was
forced to give up all land beyond the
Amur and
Ussuri Rivers to the
Russian Empire, cutting off the Qing Empire from the
Sea of Japan and giving Heilongjiang its present northern and eastern borders. At the same time,
Manchuria was opened to
Han Chinese migration by the
Qing
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...
government. By the early twentieth century, due to the ''
Chuang Guandong'', the
Han Chinese had become the dominant ethnic group in the region.
In 1931, Japanese forces
invaded
An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
Heilongjiang. In 1932, the Japanese completed their conquest of the province, which became part of the
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese
puppet state of
Manchukuo
Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...
.
In 1945, Japanese forces in Manchuria were
defeated by the Soviet Army. During the
Chinese Civil War, Soviet forces aided the Chinese communists. Heilongjiang became the first province to be completely controlled by the communists and
Harbin
Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...
the first major city to be controlled by them.
At the beginning of communist rule, Heilongjiang included only the western portion of the present-day province, and had its capital at Qiqihar. The remaining area was the
province of Songjiang; its capital was Harbin. In 1954, these two provinces were merged into present-day Heilongjiang. During the
Cultural Revolution, Heilongjiang was also expanded to include
Hulunbuir League
Hulunbuir or Hulun Buir ( mn, , ''Kölün buyir'', Mongolian Cyrillic: Хөлөнбуйр, ''Khölönbuir''; zh, s=呼伦贝尔, ''Hūlúnbèi'ěr'') is a region that is governed as a prefecture-level city in northeastern Inner Mongolia, China. ...
and some other areas previously in
Inner Mongolia; this has since mostly been reversed.
Geography
Heilongjiang is a land of varied topographies. Much of the province is dominated by mountain ranges such as the
Greater Khingan Range and
Lesser Khingan Range,
Zhangguangcai Mountains,
Laoye Mountains, and
Wanda Mountains
The Wanda Mountains () are located in the Heilongjiang Province of China.
The forests on the mountains are home to many rare species of plants and fungi. Among these include: black fungus, zhenmo, and wei or cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea).
...
. The highest peak is
Datudingzi Mountain
Datudingzi Mountain or Datudingzi Shan (), also known as Mount Datudingzi, abbreviated as "Mt. Datudingzi", is the highest point of Heilongjiang province , located about 170 kilometers southeast of Wuchang County, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Prov ...
at , located on the border with
Jilin province. The Greater Khingan Range contains China's largest remaining virgin forest and is an important area for China's forestry industry.
The east and southwest of the province, which are relatively flat and low in altitude, feature the
Muling River Muling or Muren () is a river in Northeast China, a left tributary of the Ussuri.
Its length is , and its basin area is approximately . Jixi and Hulin are located on Muling River.
The area of the river is known by Sino-Soviet conflict (1929) and ...
, the
Naoli River, the
Songhua River, the
Nen River
The Nen River or Nenjiang (), or Nonni () is a river in Northeast China. The Nen River flows through the northern part of Heilongjiang Province and the northeastern section of Inner Mongolia, some parts of the river forming the border between the ...
, and the
Mudan River, all tributaries of the
Amur, while the northern border forms part of the
Amur valley.
Xingkai Lake (or
Khanka Lake) is found on the border with
Russia's
Primorsky Krai.
Climate
A
humid continental climate (
Köppen ''Dwa'' or ''Dwb'') predominates in the province, though areas in the far north are
subarctic
The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of humid continental regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and the Cairngorms. Generally, ...
(Köppen ''Dwc''). Winters are long and bitter, with an average of in January, and summers are short and warm to very warm with an average of in July. The annual average rainfall is , concentrated heavily in summer. Clear weather is prevalent throughout the year, and in the spring, the
Songnen Plain
The Songnen Plain () in Northeast China is named after the Songhua and Nenjiang Rivers and is connected to the Sanjiang Plain through the Songhua River Valley; a small plain lies north of Xingkai Lake
Lake Khanka (russian: о́зеро Ха́ ...
and the
Sanjiang Plain The Sanjiang Plain includes the Amur River (also known as the Heilong, or literally, "Black Dragon" or River), Songhua and Ussuri (also known as the Wusuli) rivers and covers 23 counties in Heilongjiang Province, China encompassing about 109,000&nb ...
provide abundant sources of wind energy.
The province's largest cities include
Harbin
Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...
,
Qiqihar,
Mudanjiang,
Jiamusi,
Daqing
Daqing (; alternately romanized as Taching) is a prefecture-level city in the west of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. The name literally means "Great Celebration". Daqing is known as the "Oil Capital of China" and has experi ...
,
Jixi,
Shuangyashan
Shuangyashan () is a coal mining prefecture-level city located in the eastern part Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, bordering Russia's Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais to the east. The city's name means a pair-of-ducks mountains ...
,
Hegang,
Qitaihe
Qitaihe () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Heilongjiang province, China. Covering an area , it is geographically the smallest prefecture-level division of the province. Qitaihe also has the second smallest population of the cities in Heil ...
,
Yichun, and
Heihe.
Transport
Roads
Heilongjiang boasts an extensive road network. As of October 2020, it has 165,989 km of expressways, highways and other roads. The
Beijing - Harbin Expressway is the most significant expressway corridor to the province, which begins at the Heilongjiang - Jilin border and ends within the
Harbin Ring Expressway. The
Harbin - Tongjiang Expressway runs northeast and it links far-flung counties within the jurisdiction of Harbin, Jiamusi and other major counties in Northeast Heilongjiang. Near the end of Harbin - Tongjiang Expressway,
Jiansanjiang–Heixiazi Island Expressway branches off the main expressway at Jiansanjiang and connects many state-owned farms at the far east of the province before ending near the Sino-Russian border. The
Suifenhe - Manzhouli Expressway is another major corridor, it runs southeast to northwest and connects some of the most significant population centers of the province, including Mudanjiang, Harbin, Daqing and Qiqihar, before ending at the Heilongjiang - Inner Mongolia border. The
Hegang - Dalian Expressway runs between Hegang and the Heilongjiang - Jilin border in East Heilongjiang, is another major expressway that facilitates the transportation of lumber and coal.
Railways
There are 60 railway lines of around including a section of the Asia-Europe Continental Bridge. The
Harbin–Dalian High-Speed Railway, completed in 2012, stretches from Harbin, Heilongjiang's capital, to
Dalian
Dalian () is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China. Located on the ...
in Liaoning province via
Changchun
Changchun (, ; ), also romanized as Ch'angch'un, is the capital and largest city of Jilin Province, People's Republic of China. Lying in the center of the Songliao Plain, Changchun is administered as a , comprising 7 districts, 1 county and 3 c ...
and
Shenyang
Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a major China, Chinese sub-provincial city and the List of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Lia ...
comprising 23 stops. It is expected to transport 37 million passengers per year by 2020 and 51 million by 2030.
Airports
Major airports include
Harbin Taiping International Airport,
Qiqihar Airport
Qiqihar Sanjiazi Airport is a dual-use military and civil airport serving the city of Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province, China.
Airlines and destinations