Heilongjiang

Heilongjiang, also Heilungkiang or Hei-lung-chiang, province in Northeast China, on the northeastern border with Russia; comprising the northern portion of the historic region of Manchuria. The Dongbei Pingyuan (Northeast China Plain) occupies the southern portion of the province and is crossed by the fertile valley of the Songhua River. To the north lies the heavily forested Xiao Hinggan Ling (Lesser Khingan Range), and to the east lies an upland area of marshes and swamps.

The capital and chief city is Harbin; other cities include Qiqihar, Hegang, and Jiamusi. A center of heavy industry, Harbin is a big machinery and tool manufacturer, as well as a producer of electrical and construction equipment. Daqing oil field, in the southwest, is the largest in China, and coal is mined in the east. Wheat, sugar beets, and soybeans are the major crops.

Heilongjiang is a sparsely populated region with a severe climate. The province is named after the river that forms the border between China and Russia, called the Amur in Russian. Temperatures in the region are breathtakingly cold in the severe winter, often dipping to -40°C (-40°F). The conditions are ideal for ice sculptures, and Harbin is the site of the Ice Lantern Festival, where elaborate sculptures of people, animals, and structures of all kinds are carved out of ice.

The Manchu dynasty had forbidden Chinese settlement in the region, so the Han Chinese did not settle here until the mid-19th century. For centuries, the Russians had exerted considerable influence over the region; its borders were first disputed by China and Russia in the 17th century. The Russians occupied the area from 1900 to 1917. It was again taken from Chinese control in 1931, when the Japanese invaded Manchuria and the area became part of the Japanese-controlled state of Manchukuo (1932-1945). Underground Soviet air-raid tunnels are remnants of the Soviet occupation from 1945 to 1946, after Japan’s defeat in World War II. China then reclaimed the territory. Area, 463,600 sq km (179,000 sq mi); population 38,150,000 (2003 estimate).