Harbin, located in the northeast of China, in the southwest of Heilongjiang Province, the provincial capital of Heilongjiang Province, a sub-provincial city in China, is the center of politics, economy and culture in Northeast China and also a mega city coming first in the area of land under jurisdiction and coming third in registered population among the provincial cities in China. Its special historical course and geographical location have created an exotic beautiful city, Harbin, which has not only brought together the history and culture of northern ethnic minorities but also integrated Chinese and foreign cultures. It is a famous historical and cultural city and tourist city in China, also known as "the Ice City", “Oriental Moscow” and “Oriental Paris”. The whole city covers an area of 53,100 km2 (including an urban area of 10,198 km2), occupying 0.55% of the country's land area, with its population occupying 0.7% of the country's total population. It has 45 ethnic minorities, bringing a variety of religious cultures together, making it the only city featuring the co-existence of Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Catholicism, Islam and Orthodox Christianity in China.
Historical Evolution
Harbin, with a long history, is a city that has never had city walls. As early as 22,000 years ago, humans were found to be active here in the late Paleolithic Era. About 5,000 years ago, Harbin entered the Neolithic Age. About 3,000 years ago, in the late Shang Dynasty, Harbin entered the Bronze Age and was in the distribution area of the culture of Baijinbao-the earliest ancient civilization county in the Heilongjiang region.
After the founding of a new China, Harbin quickly restored and developed its national economy, and during the "First Five-Year Plan" period, Harbin was one of the national key construction cities, 13 of the 156 major assistance construction projects offered by the former Soviet Union settling down in Harbin, making it become an important industrial base in China and quickly shift from a consumption city to a new industrial city. From 1958 to 1965, Harbin went through a tortuous development process involving "the Great Leap Forward" and economic adjustment. During “the Cultural Revolution”, Harbin's national economy suffered serious setbacks, with its normal economic and social order being severely damaged. Since the reform and opening-up, it has made outstanding achievements in terms of national economy and social undertakings.
In recent years, Harbin has witnessed rapid economic and social development, with its urban economic strength listed among China’s top ten and tourism industry listed among China’s top 20 competitive tourist cities, ranking 3rd among "China's Happiest Cities", ranking among the top 20 global summer resort cities. Harbin has been honored as the "City of Music" by the United Nations and has been granted such honorable titles by China as the "National-level Civilized City", the "National Public Transport Urban Construction Demonstration City", the "Gorgeous Wetland City", the "National Double-Support Model City", the "China's Most Competitive Regional Finance Center City" and the "Advanced City in the National Cultural System Reform". Its rate of occurrence of criminal cases per 10,000 people has maintained the lowest among provincial capital cities for four consecutive years, Harbin is increasingly improving its international reputation and influence and going through a shift from an industry-dominated city to a modern comprehensive and multifunctional city.
Nature and Geography
Harbin, located at the longitude 125°42′-130°10′E and the latitude 44°04′-46°40′N, has a temperate continental monsoon climate, with an average annual temperature of 5.6 °C, the highest average monthly temperature of 23.6 °C and the lowest average monthly temperature of -15.8 °C. It has long winters and short summers, and is thus known as "the Ice City", with its annual precipitation being 423 mm, mainly in June-September, with a frost-free period of 168 days. Harbin, located in the plain area, with 1.977 million hectares of arable land, dominated by “Black Land” which is rich in nutrients. The mainstream of the Songhua River, which originates from the Changbai Mountain’s Heavenly Lake, runs through the central part of Harbin from west to east and has become the whole city’s a watercourse with the largest irrigation volume.
The city flower of Harbin is lilac. Harbin's ZIP Code: 150000; Phone Area Code: 0451; Area Code: 230100.
