Harbin

Harbin (Simplified: 哈尔滨, Traditional: 哈爾濱, pinyin: ha'erbin, Russian 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 km², 1637 km² urban
Geographic coordinates: 125°42'-130°10' east, 44°04'-46°40' N
GDP per capita: ¥18244 (ca. US$2200) in 2003, ranked no. 84 among 659 Chinese cities.
Mayor: Shi Zhongxin: since 2002
Harbin bears the nickname "The Pearl on the swan's neck" because the shape of Heilongjiang resembles a swan.

Subdivisions
7 districts:
Daoli
Nangang
Dongli
Pingfang
Xiangfang
Taiping
Daowai

4 county-level cities:
Acheng
Shangzhi
Shuangcheng
Wuchang

8 counties:
Hulan
Zhengfang
Bing
Yilan
Bayan
Tonghe
Mulan
Yanshou

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 Guards, with Chinese assistance, took the city: it then became a major centre of White Russian émigrés.

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, and became incorporated into Harbin on August 11, 1999, making Harbin a prefecture-level city.