I Heart China

Hēilóngjiāng (黑龙江) is a province in the extreme north east of China. The name is derived from the Chinese name of the Amur river that runs along the north and east edge of the province and makes up much of the border between China and Russia. To the south, Heilongjiang borders the Chinese province of Jilin and to the east lies Inner Mongolia. Historically part of Manchuria, the area also has strong Russian and Korean influences, making it a unique and interesting tourist destination. Heilongjiang is bitterly cold in winter but has turned this to it's own advantage by staging the worlds largest snow and ice sculpture park in Harbin, during January and February each year. This is very popular with tourists from all over the world.

In ancient times Heilongjiang was far from any literate civilization, and information was sparse. Chinese and other sources state that Heilongjiang was inhabited by people such as the Xianbei, the Malgal, and the Khitan. The eastern portion of Heilongjiang was ruled by the kingdom of Balhae between the 7th century and 10th century. The Jurchen Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) 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 era of the the Manchu 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 (the title is also translated as the Military Governor of Heilongjiang), 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, 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 Heilongjang City (also known as Aigun or Heihe, or, in Manchu, Saghalien Ula), located on the Amur River. However, already in 1690 the seat of the governor was tranferred to Nenjiang (Mergen) on the Nen River, 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, meanwhile accessing Aigun (Heihe) would require either sailing all the way down the Sungari River until its fall into Amur and then up the Amur to Heihe, or using a portage 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 serve for the defense both against the Russians and the Ölöt Mongols

In 1858 and 1860 the Qing government were forced to give up all land beyond the Amur and Ussuri Rivers to the Russian Empire, cutting China off from the Sea of Japan and giving Heilongjiang its present northern borders. At the same time, Manchuria was opened to Han Chinese migration by the Qing government. By the early twentieth century, the Han Chinese had become the dominant ethnic group in the region.

In 1932, present-day Heilongjiang became part of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo.

After the Japanese defeat in 1945, Soviet forces entered Manchuria and gave the Chinese communists control over most of the area. Heilongjiang became the first province to be completely controlled by the Chinese communists and Harbin the first major city to be controlled by them. From Manchuria, the communists were able to conduct the initial phases of the Chinese Civil War.

At the beginning of communist rule, Heilongjiang province 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 and some other areas previously in Inner Mongolia; this has since mostly been reversed.

The majority of Heilongjiang's population is Han Chinese, while other ethnic minorities include the Manchus, Koreans, Mongols, Hui, Daur, Xibe, Oroqin, Hezhen and Russians.

The agriculture of Heilongjiang, heavily defined by its cold climate, is based upon crops such as soybeans, maize, and wheat. Commercial crops grown include beets, flax, and sunflowers.

Heilongjiang is also an important source of lumber for China. Pine, especially the Korean pine and larch are the most important forms of lumber produced in Heilongjiang. Forests are mostly to be found in the Daxingan Mountains and Xiaoxingan Mountains, which are also home to protected animal species such as the Siberian Tiger, the red-crowned crane, and the lynx.

Herding in Heilongjiang is centered upon horse and cattle. Heilongjiang has the greatest number of milk cows and the highest production of milk among all the province-level divisions of China.

Petroleum is of great importance in Heilongjiang, and the Daqing oilfields are an important source of petroleum for China. Coal, gold, and graphite are other important minerals to be found in Heilongjiang. Heilongjiang also has great potential for wind power, with an average wind energy density of 200 watts per square metre.

Heilongjiang is part of northeast China, the traditional base of industry for the People's Republic of China. Industry is focused upon coal, petroleum, lumber, machinery, and food. Due to its location, Heilongjiang is also an important gateway for trade with Russia. In recent years, Manchuria has suffered from stagnation. As a result, the government has started the Revitalize Northeast China campaign to deal with this problem, using privatization as the preferred method of economic reform.

At least five miners were killed after a coal mine fire in Heilongjiang it was reported on September 21, 2008.[4]

Its GDP has been rising steadily since 2003, growing 37% from 2003-2007. Furthermore, the incremental value of the private economy grew by 20.1 percent in 2006 reaching RMB234 billion, and accounting for 37.6 percent of the GDP. The tax revenue from private enterprises hit RMB20.5 billion, a rise of 17.8 percent.

Private enterprises in Heilongjiang witnessed the fastest development in 2007, fueling the overall economic growth of the province. Many leading private enterprises have begun to emerge. Over 200 of them have an annual income exceeding RMB100 million. The province's three major private enterprises, namely the Heilongjiang Sunflower Medicine Ltd, Qitaihe Yidaxin Coal Co., and Heilongjiang Yiyang Group, each contributed more than RMB100 million in tax revenue in 2007.

At present, many private investors are involved in large construction projects in Heilongjiang. In 2006, 928 large projects absorbed private capital of RMB5 million each, and 101 projects attracted RMB100 million each within the province. In line with the centralgovernment’s policy to revitalize the Northeast, Heilongjiang is now restructuring its six pillar industries, namely equipment manufacturing, petrochemicals, food processing, energy, pharmaceuticals, and forest and timber processing.

In 2008, Heilongjiang's nominal GDP was 831 billion yuan (US$120 billion), an annual growth rate of 11.8%. Its per capita GDP was 21,727 yuan (US$3,128). Its primary, secondary, and tertiary industries were worth 108.9 billion yuan, 436.6 billion yuan, and 285.5 billion yuan respectively. The per capita disposable income of urban residents in Heilongjiang reached 11,581 yuan (US$1,667), a rise of 13% from the previous year. The per capita net income of rural residents in the province reached 4,856 yuan (US$700), a rise of 17.5 from 2007.