Province · Northeast China
Heilongjiang
黑龙江
China's northernmost province on the Amur, land of black soil and ice
Heilongjiang is China's northernmost and easternmost province, bounded by the Heilong (Amur) and Ussuri rivers on the long border with Russia. Its black-soil plains make it the country's largest grain producer; its capital, Harbin, founded by Russian railway builders in 1898, is known for its winter ice festival and its Russian-era architecture.
Key facts
- Capital
- Harbin
- Abbreviation
- 黑 (Hēi)
- Area
- about 473,000 km²[1]
- Resident population
- 30.01 million(as of end of 2025)[2]
- Gross regional product
- CNY 1.69 trillion(as of 2025)[2]
- Census population
- 31.85 million(as of 2020 census)[3]
- Divisions
- 12 prefecture-level cities, 1 prefecture[1]
- Lowest recorded temperature
- −52.3 °C (Mohe, 1969)
Profile
- Chinese name
- 黑龙江
- Abbreviation (简称)
- 黑
- Type
- Province
- Region
- Northeast China
- Capital
- Harbin
- Area
- about 473,000 km²
- Divisions
- 12 prefecture-level cities and 1 prefecture (Greater Khingan)
- Ethnic groups
- Han, Manchu, Korean, Mongol, Hui, Daur
- Languages
- Northeastern Mandarin, Daur, Hezhen (Nanai), Oroqen
- Neighbours
- Jilin, Inner Mongolia
- Borders
- Russia
Languages
Northeastern Mandarin
东北官话
Harbin's speech is among the closest of any regional variety to standard Mandarin, with loanwords from Russian.
Daur
达斡尔语
Mongolic language of the Daur around Qiqihar.
Hezhen (Nanai)
赫哲语
Tungusic language of the Hezhen fishing communities on the Songhua, Heilong and Ussuri, now spoken by very few people.
Oroqen
鄂伦春语
Tungusic language of the former reindeer and forest hunters of the Khingan ranges.
Name and abbreviation
The province is named after the Heilong Jiang, “Black Dragon River”, the Chinese name of the Amur, which forms its northern border. The Qing created a military governorship of Heilongjiang in 1683 during its conflict with Russia over the river; the province was established in 1907. The abbreviation 黑, “black”, is the first character of the name and is often linked to the dark colour of the river and of the region's soils.
Historic names
黑龙江将军
The Qing military governor of the region from 1683, first based at Aihui, later at Qiqihar.
北大荒
“great northern wilderness”
Name for the uncultivated plains of the north-east, turned into state farms from the 1950s; the name now stands for the farms themselves.
龙江
Common short form of the name, used in institutions and media.
肃慎
Ancient people of the Northeast named in early Chinese texts, regarded as forerunners of the Jurchens and Manchus.
Land and climate
Heilongjiang is framed by mountains on three sides and rivers on the fourth. The Greater Khingan range covers the north-west with boreal larch forest, the Lesser Khingan runs along the Amur in the north, and the Zhangguangcai and Wanda mountains rise in the south-east. Between them lie two great plains of black soil: the Songnen Plain around Harbin and Qiqihar, and the Sanjiang Plain in the north-east, where the Songhua, Heilong and Ussuri meet. The province also has volcanic landscapes at Wudalianchi and Jingpo Lake, and large wetlands.
Landforms
Greater Khingan Range
大兴安岭
Forested range in the far north-west; Mohe, at its northern end, is the northernmost town in China.
Lesser Khingan Range
小兴安岭
Low mountains of mixed forest along the Amur, centred on Yichun.
Songnen Plain
松嫩平原
Plain of the Songhua and Nen rivers, with farmland, oilfields at Daqing and wetlands.
Sanjiang Plain
三江平原
The “three-river plain” in the north-east, once marsh, largely reclaimed as state farms.
Wudalianchi
五大连池
Volcanic field with cones and five lava-dammed lakes; the last eruptions were in 1719–1721.
Rivers and lakes
Heilong River (Amur)
黑龙江
Forms the border with Russia along the whole northern edge of the province.
Songhua River
松花江
The province's main internal river, flowing through Harbin to the Amur at Tongjiang.
Ussuri River
乌苏里江
Forms the eastern border with Russia; the eastern tip of China lies at its confluence with the Amur.
Nen River
嫩江
Flows south from the Greater Khingan past Qiqihar to join the Songhua.
Mudan River
牡丹江
Tributary of the Songhua through Jingpo Lake and Mudanjiang city.
Climate
Heilongjiang has the coldest climate of any Chinese province: winters are long, dry and severe, with average January temperatures well below −15 °C in Harbin and far lower in the north, where Mohe recorded China's lowest temperature, −52.3 °C, in 1969. Rivers freeze for five months or more. Summers are short, warm and rainy, with long daylight hours that suit the single annual crop. Winter is the season for ice festivals and skiing; June to September is best for forests, lakes and the border rivers.
History
The forests and rivers of Heilongjiang were home to hunting and fishing peoples — the Sushen, Mohe, Jurchens and their descendants. The Bohai kingdom had its main capital near today's Ning'an, and the Jurchen Aguda founded the Jin dynasty in 1115 at Huining, now part of Harbin. In the seventeenth century the Qing fought Russia along the Amur, settling the border by the Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689; the treaties of Aigun (1858) and Beijing (1860) moved it to the Amur and the Ussuri. Russia built the Chinese Eastern Railway and Harbin from 1898. Japan occupied the region from 1931 to 1945. After 1949 Heilongjiang became a frontier of land reclamation, oil and heavy industry.
698–926
Bohai kingdom's Upper Capital
Longquan Prefecture near Ning'an, laid out on the model of Tang Chang'an, was the kingdom's main capital for most of its history.
1115
Aguda founds the Jin dynasty
The Jurchen leader proclaimed the Jin at Huining (Acheng, Harbin), which went on to destroy the Liao and conquer northern China.
1685–1689
Albazin and the Treaty of Nerchinsk
After besieging the Russian fort of Albazin on the Amur, the Qing concluded China's first treaty with a European power, fixing the border north of the river.
1858 and 1860
Treaties of Aigun and Beijing
The Qing ceded the land north of the Amur and east of the Ussuri to Russia, establishing the present river border.
1898–1903
Chinese Eastern Railway and the founding of Harbin
Russia built a railway across the Northeast to Vladivostok, with Harbin as its administrative centre.
1910–1911
Manchurian plague
The physician Wu Lien-teh led the containment of a pneumonic plague epidemic centred on Harbin, pioneering the use of masks and quarantine.
1932–1945
Japanese occupation and Unit 731
The region was part of Manchukuo; at Pingfang near Harbin the Japanese army's Unit 731 carried out biological-weapons experiments on prisoners.
1950s–1970s
Reclaiming the Great Northern Wilderness
Demobilised soldiers and, later, urban youths sent down to the countryside created state farms on the Sanjiang and Songnen plains.
1959
Discovery of the Daqing oilfield
China's largest oilfield made the country largely self-sufficient in oil and produced the model worker Wang Jinxi.
March 1969
Zhenbao Island clashes
Armed clashes with Soviet forces on an island in the Ussuri marked the low point of Sino-Soviet relations.
2008
Final border demarcation with Russia
Part of Heixiazi (Bolshoy Ussuriysky) Island at Fuyuan was transferred to China, completing the demarcation of the border.
World heritage
Intangible cultural heritage (UNESCO lists)
Inscribed 2011
Hezhen Yimakan storytelling
赫哲族伊玛堪
Sung and spoken epic narration of the Hezhen fishing people, inscribed on the list of intangible heritage in need of urgent safeguarding.
Culture
Heilongjiang's culture was shaped by frontier settlement, the Russian presence and the long winter. Harbin's Russian and Jewish communities of the early twentieth century left churches, synagogues and a taste for bread, sausage and kvass; the city has a strong musical tradition and a summer music festival held since 1961. The Hezhen, Oroqen, Ewenki and Daur keep traditions of fishing, forest hunting and horsemanship. Winter defines the calendar: ice lanterns, snow sculpture and winter swimming in the Songhua.
Opera, music and dance
Yimakan
伊玛堪
Hezhen epic storytelling, alternating song and speech, about heroes and shamans.
Errenzhuan
二人转
The Northeast's comic duet, popular in theatres and at country fairs.
Harbin Summer Music Concert
哈尔滨之夏音乐会
Music festival founded in 1961, one of the oldest in the People's Republic.
Crafts
Ice sculpture
冰雕
Carving of river ice into lanterns, sculptures and buildings, developed in Harbin from the 1960s.
Hezhen fish-skin clothing
鱼皮衣
Garments sewn from the tanned skins of salmon and carp, a Hezhen tradition.
Birch-bark crafts
桦树皮制品
Containers, canoes and decorated boxes made by the Oroqen and Ewenki.
Festivals and customs
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
冰雪节
Held every winter since 1985, with ice buildings lit from within and snow sculptures on Sun Island.
Winter swimming
冬泳
Swimming in pools cut into the frozen Songhua, a popular pastime in Harbin.
Oroqen Bonfire Festival
篝火节
Oroqen gathering held on 18 June with fires, dances and horsemanship.
Cuisine
Heilongjiang shares the hearty stews, pickled cabbage and dumplings of the Northeast, but adds Russian influences, especially in Harbin — rye bread, smoked sausage, kvass and cream-based dishes — and river fish from the Songhua, Heilong and Ussuri. The province grows much of China's premium rice and soybeans.
Signature dishes
Guobaorou
锅包肉
Crisp battered pork in a sweet-sour sauce, created in Harbin in the early twentieth century for foreign guests of the local administration.
Harbin red sausage
哈尔滨红肠
Smoked pork sausage of Russian and Eastern European origin, flavoured with garlic.
Dalieba
大列巴
Large round loaf of Russian-style bread, its name taken from the Russian khleb.
Pig-slaughter stew
杀猪菜
Winter dish of fresh pork, blood sausage and pickled cabbage from the season's pig killing.
Goose stewed in an iron pot
铁锅炖大鹅
Goose, potatoes and corn stewed at the table with bread cooked on the rim.
Hezhen raw fish
杀生鱼
Raw fish dressed with vinegar and vegetables, a Hezhen speciality.
Specialities
Wuchang rice
五常大米
Aromatic short-grain rice from Wuchang near Harbin, among the most sought-after rice brands in China.
Soybeans
大豆
Heilongjiang produces the largest share of China's domestic soybeans.
Black fungus
黑木耳
Wood-ear mushrooms from the eastern forests, notably Dongning.
Wild blueberries
蓝莓
Gathered in the Greater Khingan forests and made into juice and wine.
Harbin beer
哈尔滨啤酒
Brewing in Harbin dates from 1900, making it one of the oldest beer brands in China.
Notable people
Wanyan Aguda (1068–1123)
完颜阿骨打
Jurchen chieftain who founded the Jin dynasty at Huining, in today's Harbin.
Wu Lien-teh (1879–1960)
伍连德
Malayan-born physician who fought the Harbin plague of 1910–1911 and founded China's modern epidemic-prevention service.
Xiao Hong (1911–1942)
萧红
Novelist born in Hulan, now part of Harbin; her Tales of Hulan River is a classic of modern Chinese literature.
Wang Jinxi (1923–1970)
王进喜
The “Iron Man” of the Daqing oilfield, a national model worker; he was born in Gansu.
Economy
Heilongjiang is China's largest grain producer, growing rice, maize and soybeans on the black-soil plains, much of it on large state farms. Its industrial base — oil from Daqing, coal from the eastern cities, heavy equipment from Harbin and Qiqihar, timber from the Khingan forests — was built in the planned economy, and the province has struggled with declining oil and coal output and population loss. Trade with Russia, green food, ice-and-snow tourism and summer tourism are growth areas.
Main industries
- Grain: rice, maize and soybeans; the Beidahuang state-farm group
- Oil and petrochemicals (Daqing)
- Power-generation equipment and heavy machinery (Harbin, Qiqihar)
- Coal (Jixi, Hegang, Shuangyashan, Qitaihe)
- Food processing and dairy
- Border trade with Russia
- Winter sports and tourism
Zones, ports and hubs
China (Heilongjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone
中国（黑龙江）自由贸易试验区
Established in 2019 with areas in Harbin and the border cities of Heihe and Suifenhe, focused on trade with Russia.
Harbin New Area
哈尔滨新区
National-level new area north of the Songhua, approved in 2015.
Suifenhe border port
绥芬河口岸
Road and rail crossing to Russia's Primorye, on the old Chinese Eastern Railway line.
Cities
- Harbin哈尔滨Capital · Historic city · Cultural centreIce City on the Songhua, built by the railway
- Qiqihar齐齐哈尔Historic city · Industrial centre · Scenic areaCrane City on the Nen River
- Mudanjiang牡丹江Scenic area · Historic city · Border cityJingpo Lake, the Bohai capital and the snow country of the south-east
- Heihe黑河Border city · Historic city · Scenic areaBorder city on the Amur, facing Blagoveshchensk
Getting there
- Harbin Taiping International Airport is the main airport, with flights across China and to Russia; Mohe, Heihe and other cities have regional airports.
- High-speed lines connect Harbin with Changchun, Shenyang and Beijing, and with Qiqihar, Daqing, Mudanjiang and Jiamusi.
- Bridges across the Amur link Heihe with Blagoveshchensk by road and Tongjiang with Russia by rail.
Entry rules for foreign visitors are on the visa and entry pages.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Heilongjiang Provincial People's Government — Heilongjiang Provincial People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- 2025年黑龙江省国民经济和社会发展统计公报 (Statistical Communiqué of Heilongjiang on the 2025 National Economic and Social Development) — Heilongjiang Provincial Bureau of Statistics (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Seventh National Population Census communiqués — National Bureau of Statistics of China (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Intangible Cultural Heritage: China — UNESCO (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Heilongjiang — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)
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