Harbin
Harbin (Simplified: 哈尔滨, Traditional: 哈爾濱, pinyin: hā'ĕrbīn, Russian Харбин Kharbin) is a sub-provincial city in north-east China and the capital of the Heilongjiang Province. It lies on the southern bank of Songhua River.
- City seat: Daoli District
- Population: 9,410,000 (as of 2001)
- Area: 53775 kmÃÂò, 1637 kmÃÂò urban
- Geographic coordinates: 125ÃÂð42′-130ÃÂð10′ east, 44ÃÂð04′-46ÃÂð40′ N
- GDP per capita: ÃÂÃÂ¥18244 (ca. US$2200) in 2003, ranked no. 84 among 659 Chinese cities.
- Mayor: Shi Zhongxin (石忠信): since 2002
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2 History |
Subdivisions
7 districts:
4 county-level cities:
8 counties:
History
Human settlement in the Harbin area dates from at least 2200 BC (late Stone Age). It is formerly Pinkiang.
The modern city of Harbin originated in 1898 with the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway by Russia. In December 1918, during the Russian Civil War, Russian White Guardss, with Chinese assistance, took the city: it then became a major centre of White Russian ÃÂémigrÃÂés.
Japanese troops occupied Harbin from February 4, 1932. The Soviet Army took the city on 20 August 1945. After a period under the control of the Kuomintang, the city came into the hands of the Chinese People's Liberation Army in April 1946.
The eight Harbin counties originally formed part of Songhuajiang Prefecture (松花江地区), and became incorporated into Harbin on August 11, 1999, making Harbin a prefecture-level city.