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Geological location:
 Heilongjiang
Province, abbreviated as "Hei" in Chinese, is
located in the Northeast of China, at the highest latitudes
and the northernmost end of the country. It neighbors
Russia across the Heilongjiang and Wusuli rivers running
in its north and east respectively; in the west, it adjoins
the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region; and to its south
is Jilin Province. It covers an area of 454,000 square
km, accounting for 4.7 percent of the nation's total.
Under its jurisdiction are 13 prefectures and cities,
66 counties (cities), 1,211 townships (towns) and 14,488
villages.
Capital:
Harbin
Major Cities: Harbin, Qiqihar, Mudanjiang, Jiamusi, Jixi,
Hegang, Shuangyashan, Daqing, Heihe
Neighboring
Areas: Jilin province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous
Region
Attractions
in Heilongjiang
Population:
The total population of the province is 38 million, of
which, the rural population is 17.37 million, accounting
for 45.8 percent of the total; the urban population is
20.55 million, accounting for 54.2 percent of the total.
Population growth rate:6.36¡ë.
Average life expectancy: 66.97 years; Male: 66.5 years;
female: 68.73 years.
Ethnicity:
The province is a habitation for many ethnic groups.
According to the fourth national census taken in 1990,
there are 47 ethnic groups living in the province, of
which, Han people made up 94.3 percent of the province¡¯s
total; people of 42 ethnic minorities, 2 millions, accounting
for 5.7 percent of the total. Major ethnic minorities
include Manchu, Hui, Mongolian, Korean and Daur, Sibo,
Hezhe, Oroqen, Ewenki and Kirgiz, who are distributed
across the province. Dorbod Mongolian Autonomous County
is the only area in the province with ethnic autonomous
administration. There are 51 cities and counties where
the ethnic minority population has reached 10,000 or more.
There are 68 ethnic minority townships and 920 ethnic
minority villages. The average population density of the
province is 81.7 person per square kilometer.
Literacy:
According to the 1 percent sample population survey
made in 1995, of the population above six years old, 3.4
percent have a educational background of community college
or higher; 12.7 percent of high school; 35.2 percent of
junior high school; and 38.2 percent of primary school.
Of the population above 15 years old, illiterates and
semi-literates account for 10.8 percent.
According to statistics made in the end of 2001, the province
has 41 higher learning institutes, with a total of 271,000
students, among which 22 has graduate schools, with 14,000
postgraduates. There are 47 colleges of adult education,
with an enrollment of 58,000 students. There are 96 vocational
schools with an enrollment of 116,000 students; there
are 2,775 middle schools with an enrollment of 2.521 million
students; there are 51,000 adult students attending vocational
training schools, and 2.588 million pupils in 12,636 primary
schools. There are 7,518 students studying in special
schools and 370,000 children in kindergartens. About 3.404
million students have received training at adult technical
schools, and around 9,000 illiterate people learned how
to read and write each year.
Elevation extremes:
The province¡¯s topography is higher in the
northwest, north and the southeast, and lower in the northeast
and southwest. In its northwestern part, there is the
Greater Hinggan Mountains, and in the north, the Lesser
Hinggan Mountains. In the southeastern part, there are
the ridges of Zhangguangcai, Laoye and Taiping, in addition
to the Wanda Mountain. The Nenjiang River and Songhua
rivers run across the province from south to north, forming
the Sanjiang (three-river) Plain in the northeast and
the Songnen Plain in the southwest. In its southeast,
there is the Xingkai Lake. Hilly land and mountainous
areas account for 70 percent of the province¡¯s
land, with heights ranging from 300 to 1,780 meters above
sea level. Plains, lying 50¨C250 meters above sea
level, make up about 30 percent of the province¡¯s
total area.
Mountains:
Emur, Yilehuli, and Lesser Hinggan Mountains in the north;
in the south, part of the Changbai Mountains
Plains: the Sanjiang Plain in the east
Rivers: Heilong River along the northern border;
Nenjiang and Songhua Rivers in the middle; Wusuli River
along the eastern border
Climate:
It has a continental monsoon climate, the kind between
the temperate and frigid zones, with annual temperatures
of ¨C4 ¡ãC to 4 ¡ãC. The
temperature difference between its north and south parts
is 8 ¡ãC. Its warm summer with plentiful
rainfall and long-time sunlight is good for crops, its
annual sun radiation power reaching 100¡ª120
Cal per square centimeter. Most of the areas are windy
in spring, and its southwestern part, in particular, is
rich in wind energy source.
Average
Temperature: -32 C
to -17C
in January, 16C
to 23C
in July; coldest in the northwest
Annual Average Rainfall: 250 - 700 mm; mainly centralized
from June to August; mostly in southern side of the Lesser
Hinggan Range and the Zhangguangcai Mountains
Natural resources:
The province has 44.37 million hectares of soiled
land with rich organics, of which 40 percent is suitable
for farming. Heilongjiang is one of the world¡¯s
three major black soil zones, 67.6 percent of its total
farmland of 1,180 hectares is cultivated on either black
soiled land, marshland or black calcium soil. Furthermore,
the province has 4.33 million hectares of pastures and
4.793 million hectares of land reserved for farming. The
province ranks No. 1 in terms of farmland and forest area;
No. 7 in area of pastures; No. 4 in land to be developed;
and No. 2 in land reserved for farming. Both of its total
farmland area and the reserved land resources account
for one-tenth or more of the nation¡¯s total.
The average per head farmland and the average per head
area of farmland operated by individual farmers are three
times of the nation¡¯s average.
The province has the largest forestry industry in the
country, occupying a very important position in China¡¯s
forest ecology. The total area involved in forestry operation
is 31.26 million hectares, or 68.9 percent of the province¡¯s
total land area. Its forests cover 19.19 million hectares
of land, with a total reserve of 1.5 billion cubic meters
of live timbers. With 41.9 percent of its land covered
with forest, Heilongjiang ranks the first among all China¡¯s
provinces in afforested area, reserve of forest resources
and timber output. It is the most important state-owned
forest area and the largest timber center in China. In
its forests are more than 100 species of trees, including
30 of high use-value. Natural forests, which constitute
the principal part of its forest resources, are mainly
distributed in the Greater and Lesser Hinggan Mountains
and the Changbai Mountains.
A total of 131 minerals have been discovered in the province.
And reserves of 74 of them have been surveyed. The deposits
of 10 minerals lead the country, including petroleum,
graphite, sillimanite, cast basalt, asbestos-use basalt,
cement-use marble, colorant loess, lava ash, glass-use
marble, and orthoclase. Its coal deposit is the largest
among the three Northeast China provinces. Thirty-nine
minerals have been mined, and the annual output value
of various minerals ranks second in the country.
The province is an important energy base of China. In
1999, it produced 62.30 million tons of raw coal, making
it a key coal supplier of the country. Its output of electricity
and gas also occupies an important position in the country.
Before the founding of New China in 1949, the province
had only a hydropower station at Jingpo Lake Over the
past decades, both hydropower and thermal-power stations
have been developed over the past decades, and up to 1999,
the province had altogether 200 power stations, with a
total generating capacity of nearly 10 million mega w.;
the generating volume of its hydropower was 1.4 billion
mega w. hour. The Hayi Gas Project, the largest in Asia
of its kind, produces 1.89 million cubic meters of gas
a day.
Heilongjiang is one of China¡¯s water-rich
provinces. Its numerous rivers form five water systems,
including that of the Heilong River, Wusuli River, Songhua
River, Nenjiang River and Suifeng River. Presently, there
are about 6,000 lakes and reservoirs, covering a surface
area of more than 800,000 hectares. About 70 percent of
its rainfall concentrates in the warm season, providing
an ideal environment for all the plants and crops to grow.
The province also has a rich resource of wildlife. There
are 86 species of wild beasts and animals in 20 families
of six orders, accounting for 21.6 percent of the nation¡¯s
total species. Of them, five are under first-class state
protection, including sable, glutton, leopard, tiger and
sika deer. There are 343 bird species in 57 families of
19 orders, making up 29 percent of the nation¡¯s
total, of which 12 species are under first-class state
protection, include white cranes, Chinese goosanders,
stocks, and golden eagles. There are 2,100 species of
wild plants, 17 of which are gymnosperm in 8 genera of
four families; 1,747 species of angiosperm of 636 genera
in 107 families; and 1,764 species of seed plants in 644
genera of 111 families. There are 2.5 million tons of
reserved wild plants of economic value, including more
than 250,000 tons of edible plants, over 1 million tons
of wild grasses for paper-making and 1.25 million tons
of medicinal herbs.
The province¡¯s major agricultural produces
include soy beans, wheat, maize, potato, rice, beet, flax,
and tobacco.
Tourism resources:
Heilongjiang has abundant characteristic tourism resources.
Its spots for ice and snow activities are the best in
China. Snow-skiing period in the province lasts 120¡ª140
days in a year. In mountainous area, snow on the ground
can be 100¡ª300 cm deep and it¡¯s
of good quality. Among its smooth mountain slopes, 100
has been chosen as spots good for building large-scale
skiing grounds. Its beautiful landscape, forests and grasslands,
wetlands and rivers and lakes provide rich resources for
developing eco-tourism. Its unique history has also left
it a rich cultural legacy and colorful customs. The Bohai
State during the Tang Dynasty, the ruins of the Jin-dynasty
capital in Huining and the ruins of Longquan Mansion are
among those of historical interest. The crossing-border
tours to Russia launched on the border rivers of Heilong
and Wusuli attract tourists from all over the country.
Such cities as Harbin, Daqing and Yichun attract travelers
with their distinctive style of northern frontier cities.
In addition, there are the Zoo of Northeast China Tigers,
the Reserve of Red-Crowned Cranes, the site for admiring
the northern lights, the forest at a crate, and a number
of large-scale enterprises of mining, farming and oilfields
open to tourists. The province has set up 84 nature reserves
(including seven at state-level and 17 at provincial level),
which cover a total area of 2.30 million hectares, or
5.05 percent of the province¡¯s total land
area.
Environment and current issues:
The quality of atmosphere: The air pollution in cities
is characteristic of the typical sooty pollution, with
suspending particles being the main pollutants. Of the
10 cities monitored, six have their yearly average volume
of suspending contaminated particles exceeding the state
standard for second-class air quality. During winter when
heating is provided in cities, the air quality is apparently
worse than that in other seasons.
The quality of water: Organic pollutants have seriously
contaminated various rivers. During the frozen season,
the lack of oxygen in river waters is serious. In other
seasons, the index of permanganate exceeds the normal
standard. And the biological need for oxygen in waterways
nearby cities also exceeds the normal standard.
Transportation
Railways:
There are 60 artery railways, branches and linking lines
in the province. The railways in operation are as long
as 5,300 km (including local railway 492 km). The length
of railroads for exclusive use is 1,030 km, ranking first
in the country. The railway from Suifenghe to Manzhouli
via Harbin is an important section of the ¡°Continental
Bridge¡± linking Asia and Europe.
Highways:
In 2000, the total length of highways in the province
was more than 50,000 km. These include eight state highways,
26 provincial highways, and 216 county-operated highways.
Among these, 671 km are expressways and first-class highways,
and 5,313 km are highways of the second class or above.
Highways have reached about 99 percent of Heilongjiang¡¯s
townships and 96.5 percent of its villages.
Waterways:
The Heilongjiang water network is one of China¡¯s
three major water navigation networks. Waterways go through
the whole province, with rivers of Heilongjiang, Songhua
and Wusuli serving as the arteries and Harbin and Jiamusi
as the hubs. Jiamusi and Tongjiang have opened international
navigation service linking the rivers and the sea. Water
navigation is available on nine of the province¡¯s
rivers and two of its lakes, with a total sailing distance
of 5,117 km, ranking the second longest in the country.
There are 331 ports and wharves for ships of 10,000 tons
and larger, their handling capacity totaling 12 million
tons a year.
Airports:
The Harbin Airport is one of China¡¯s eight
major airports. It links the provincial capital with major
Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenyang,
Xi¡¯an and Urumqi, and the Russian city Khabarovsk.
So far, there are 58 air routes available, including 51
for domestic flights, six for international flights and
one for special used.
Telecommunications
Telephones:
By carrying out the program of ¡°Letting Telephone
Reach Every Village,¡± 85 percent of the
province¡¯s villages can be reached by telephone.
By the end of October 2001, the number of telephone users
(including households and mobile phone owners) reached
10.14 million, 1.89 million more than that at the end
of 2000. The number of fixed telephones reached 5.45 million,
579,000 more than that at the end of 2000, with a growth
rate of 11.9 percent. Of this figure, 4.21 million were
in the urban areas and the rest 1.24 million were in rural
areas. The number of telephones installed in urban individual
households was 3.56 million, and that of rural homes,
1.18 million. For the time being, the number of mobile
phone users has reached 4.69 million, 12.7 percent of
the total population.
In 2001, 769,000 people registered as Internet users,
620,000 more than in the previous year, or an increase
of 416 percent.
Radio and TV stations:
There are 12 broadcasting stations in the province. The
first set of programs of the Heilongjiang Radio Station
can reach 73 percent of the province¡¯s population
while the coverage of its second set of programs is 37
percent. There are 5.27 million radio sets. The province
has 23 TV stations and 388 TV transmission or relay stations,
covering up 70 percent of the population. A total of 4.73
million TV sets are being used. There are 106 cable broadcast
stations in counties and cities, in addition to 1,076
amplifying stations in villages and towns. The total length
of broadcast cable extends 84,700 km; and the loudspeakers
are as many as 2.371 million, covering 62 percent of the
rural households. |
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