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China Information » Places in China » Heilongjiang Province
Places in China: Heilongjiang Province
The most northern of China's provinces is Heilongjiang Province, which borders Russia, Jilin and Inner Mongolia. Its former name was Manchuria and is now sometimes called Dongbei. This is a remote and very cold province yet one of the agricultural leaders for such products as soy beans, beetroots, timber, oil and linen.
Being so far north, the weather is rather extreme. Very short and mild summers give way to quite cold and long sub-arctic winters with a goodly amount of wind. Forty degrees below zero is not uncommon during the Heilongjiang winters. A few hardy species of animals find their homes in this cold province. Among them are the lynx, north China tiger and the red-crowned crane.
This is the sixth largest province in the country as far as land area. However, the population density is quite low at 83 persons per square kilometre. There are slightly more than thirty-eight million people in the province.
Harbin, the capital city of Heilongjiang, is 230 miles from the Russian border. It is located on the Songhua Jiang River. It is the home of the well-known Ice and Snow Festival annually during the coldest months of the year. Harbin evolved from a small fishing town one hundred years ago to a city of four million inhabitants today.
A lot of Russian influence in architecture is seen in the province with some Russian Orthodox churches present. Russian migration to China took place during the time of the Communists taking control of Russia. However, when Communism became strong in China, many of the Russians returned to their homeland.
The province has had a tumultuous history at times. The Japanese crept into the province during World War II and tried to establish a puppet state there. Even before World War II, the Koreans and ancestors of the Manchu people invaded the province. Around 1860 the Han people were allowed to migrate to Heilongjiang Province. The Han now number about ninety-five percent of the local population. Manchu, Korean, Mongol and Hui make up the majority of the remaining ethnic groups.
Since the province has high-powered sub-arctic winds, there is a goodly amount of wind-produced electricity available. Although not a positive influence, intermittent volcanic eruptions also occur in the province.
Trade between China and Russia exists in this region because of the proximity of Russia.
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