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General
Introduction
Lying
in the northernmost part of northeast China,
Heilongjlang Province is the province with the
longest winters and -- with its vast expanses
of flatland and wide areas of fertile black
soil--one of China's major commodity grain growers.
Named after its largest river, Heilongjiang
has a total area of more than 460,000 square
kilometres, of which, like Liaoning Province,
60 per cent are mountains, 10 per cent rivers
and 30 per cent farmland. Its land area includes
the country's largest oil reserve, 2,500 million
tons. Of its population of 32.04 million, 31.5
per cent live in the cities and 68.5 per cent
in the countryside. There are 1.4 million people
from minority nationalities including the Manchus,
Koreans, Huis, Mongolians, Daurs, Hezhens, Oroqens
and Ewenkis. The bulk of Heilongjiang's population
lives in the Songnen Plain and the mining and
industrial cities.
Climate
Heilongjiang
has a cold-temperate continental climate and
a mean annual temperature of 3oC to -2oC, an
ice-bound period of 5-6 months, a frost-free
period of 120 days and a mean annual precipitation
of 550 mm. It has warm, rainy summers with long
hours of sunshine favourable to crop growth.
Topography
Roughly speaking, Heilongjiang is high in the
north and low in the south. There are, however,
some scattered hills in its southernmost part.
Its terrain can be divided into four zones:
1) The Lesser Hinggan and Yilehuli mountain
areas in the north generally exceed 1,000 metres
in elevation, with rounded hills and broad,
flat-bottomed valleys. There are intermittent
volcanic eruptions in some of the sections of
the Lesser Hinggan Mountains. 2) The Songnen
Plain in the central part belongs to the northern
section of the Northeast plain. Formed of the
black, fertile erosion and alluvial soil of
the Songhua and Nenjiang rivers, it is the principal
farming area in Heilongjiang. 3) The Sanjiang
Plain at the northeastern tip has a low-lying
terrain studded with swamps and marshes. Formed
of the silt deposits of the Heilong, Songhua
and Wusuli rivers, it has vast areas of wasteland,
part of which has been turned into large, mechanized
grain-producing farms. 4) The Southeast Mountain
Area south of the Songhua River is part of the
Eastern Mountain Area of northeast China, with
the Zhangguangcailing and Laoyeling mountains
as the main ranges.
Heilongjiang
has five large river systems: the Heilong, Songhua,
Wusuii, Nenjiang and Suifen rivers. There are
1,741 larger waterways with trunk channels totalling
4,907 kilometres. Large lakes include the Greater
and Lesser Xingkai, Jingbo and Wudalianchi.
The province has an annual flow of 93,600 million
cubic metres and a hydroelectric power potential
of 7.15 million kilowatts.
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.
SCENES
& SIGHTS
Harbin
Harbin
is capital of Heilongjiang Province and the
trading center of the northern part of northeast
China. Songhua river flows across the city,
nicknamed "Ice City" and "Snow
city" because it lies under ice and snow
for as long as four months in winter. A lot
of buildings in the city are in European styles.
Every year visitors for such annual events as
Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival,
"Summer of Harbin" Concert, and Harbin
Economic and Trade Talks.
Sun
Island
The
Sun Island on the northern shore of Songhua
river in downtown Harbin is a 38-square-km affair
covered with sand dunes. In summer it is a well-known
holidaymaking resort, while in winter it puts
on a magnificent look. The island is the site
of an international snow carving competition,
which takes place every January.
Scenic
Songhua River
A
scenic belt extends along the northern shore
of the Songhua River in downtown Harbin, with
the majestic Monument to the Anti-Flood Battle
in the center. The river is beautified by swaying
weeping willows and clusters of flowers on its
shores, and by white sails prying its waves.
A 5-km-long riverside park lies on the southern
bank, while Sun Island Scenic zone is on the
northern bank. Winter turns the river into a
crystal-clear chain, and the entire scenic belts
into a paradise of ice and snow. Zhaolin Park
is the venue of an annual ice lantern show and
an international ice sculpture competition.
Ice-and-Snow
Tours
With
long winters, Heilongjiang Province is a major
winter sports and sightseeing center in China.
Ice sculptures, snow carvings, and snow scenes
attract large numbers of visitors to Harbin,
Yabuli, Yuquan, the Jingpo Lake, and Taoshan
Mountain, where facilities are also available
for such activities as winter swimming, ice
surfing, sledging, skating and skiing.
Harbin
Int'l lice-and-Snow Festival
Time:
January 5-February 5
Venue:
Harbin
What's
On: Ice lantern show, snow sculpture display,
and international ice and snow sculpture competitions;
winter swimming, ice hockey, speed-skating,
alpine skiing; ice-and-snow motion picture festival,
folklore singing and dancing, weddings-on-the-ice.
Yabuli
Skiing Ground
Yabuli
Skiing Ground, 195km to the southeast of Harbin,
is one of the largest skiing grounds in China.
Also the venue for the skiing events of the
1996 Asian Winter Games, it features a 3,080-metre-long
alpine skiing lane with an average drop of 884
meters and an average gradient of 22. Degrees.
There are also facilities for ski jumping and
cross-country skiing.
Forest
and Bird-Watching Tours
Heilongjiang
Province catches the fancy of hunters for its
jungles teeming with wildlife. Open from September
to February, Taoshan Hunting Ground is the first
of its kind in China to open to game hunters.
For water-bird hunters there is Lianhuan Lake
Hunting Ground 233km from Harbin. Twenty-six
km from Qiqihar is Zhalong Nature Reserve, an
excellent bird-watching center with 269 kinds
of birds. It is also known as the "Land
of Cranes" because it is the natural habitat
for 6 of the world's 15 breeds of cranes.
Wudalianchi
Lakes
Situated
in north Deduo County, Wudalianchi, or Five
Interconnected Lakes, is a topographical miracle
wrought by an erupting volcanic mountain more
than 60,000 years ago. The mountains and caves
around the lakes, and the water in them, are
known for their exotic shapes and hues. It is
the venue of China's largest cold mineral water
recuperating center.
Jingpo
Lake
One
of China's national scenic resorts, the 90-square-km
Jingpo Lake sits 110km south of Mudanjiang City
and, at an altitude of 350 meters above sea
level, is China's largest alpine lake. Spring
flowers, summer waterfalls, autumn leaves, and
winter snows have produced 8 scenic spots around
the lake.
Heilongjiang
River
Nicknamed
"Mysterious Scenic Horizon", the Heilongjiang
is an international river, which meanders its
way across Russia, Mongolia and China. The middle
section of the 4,370-km-long river marks the
boundary between China and Russia. Its water
showing a darkish hue, the river looks like
a swimming dragon as it flows through a picturesque
landscape teeming with local folklore. Cruises
on the river begin at Mohe in the north, and
pass such places as Xilinji, Heihe, Xunke, and
Zhanhe. Daredevils may also go rafting in the
river. Mohe is China's northernmost town; also
known as North Pole Village, it is where the
aurora borealis can be observed during the summer
solstice, which falls on June 21 or 22.
Daqing:
Petroleum City
Daqing,
a major Chinese petrochemical center, is also
a rising city whose landscape is graced with
myriads of oil refineries and drillers. The
city itself is providently landscaped, and a
visit to it is highly recommended.
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