(1)外文名称: Harbin City
    (2)中文名称: 哈尔滨市
    (3)内容:
                        Harbin City
    Harbin is the capital of Heilongjiang Province. It is
the province's political, economic, scientific, educational and cultural center, as well as the largest central city in the north part of Northeast China. As the domain of Heilongjiang Province looks like a flying swan, Harbin is known as a "pearl
underneath the neck of the swan".
    Harbin is located in the southwest part of Heilongjiang
Province and in the eastern part of the Songhuajiang-Nenjiang
Plain. It borders on Zhaodong City, Lanxi County and Suihua City
in the northwest, Bayan County, Mulan County and Shangzhi City
in the southeast, and Wuchang County and Shuangcheng City in the
southwest. It covers an area of 18,376 sq km including 1,637 sq
km urban area, of which the established district's area accounts
for 156.1 sq km. It has a total population of 5.68 million
including 3.23 million urban residents.
    According to archaeological studies, human activity in
The Harbin area can be dated back to the Old Stone Age about 20,000 years ago, and the area had gradually developed into a residence of northern ethnic people in ancient China. In the 19th century, Harbin already had about 100 villages including Qinjiagang, Majiagou, Sijiazi (the present Daowai District), and Guxiangtun (the present Daoli District) with a total population of more than 50,000 displaying the form of a city. Harbin became a modern city in 1898 along with construction of the Zhongdong Railway, and took shape in 1903 after the railway opened to service. Between the 1920s and 1930s, it became a famous international commercial port, where 16 countries set up consulates and people from 28 countries residing in Harbin engaged in trading and banking business. On April 21, 1949, Harbin was under the administration of Songjiang Provincial People's Government. On June 19, 1954, after Songjiang Province merged into Heilongjiang Province, Harbin became the capital of Heilongjiang Province.
    One of the key transport hubs in Heilongjiang Province as
well as in Northeast China, Harbin is where five railway lines meet and seven major highways pass through to link the city to all corners of Northeast China. It is one of China's eight major inland river ports, through which ships can sail directly to Russia via the Songhua and Heilong rivers. The Harbin Airport is one of China's large airports built by the Chinese themselves, and it has 47 international and domestic air routes thus paving the way for the expansion of foreign exchanges.
    Harbin is a large city located in China's highest latitude.
Located in the eastern Asian continental monsoon zone belonging
to the central temperate zone with continental monsoon climate,
Harbin has long winter and short summer with distinct four seasons. The annual temperature average 3.5 degrees centigrade with the lowest temperature in January averaging 19.4 degrees centigrade below zero, and the highest temperature in July averaging 22.8 degrees centigrade. The city has an annual sunshine period of between 2,460 hours and 2,786 hours, a
Frost-free period of 150 days, and a freezing period of 190 days.
Its annual precipitation averages 530 mm, and concentrates in
July and August.
    Harbin's topography is higher in southeast and lower in
northwest, sloping down from southeast to northwest with an
average altitude of 151 m above sea level. The hilly areas of
the Zhangguangcai Mountain Range lies in its southeast, and the
lower-lying Hulan River and Nihe River valleys in its northwest.
The Songhua River flows through its central part. The city's
hills are not high and are crisscrossed with rivers and vast
plains. The alluvial plains are distributed mainly in the
central and west parts. The low alluvial plains, located between
112 m and 130 m above sea level, were formed by the Songhua,
Hulan, Nihe and Ashi rivers. The low plains and hillocks are distributed in the central and western parts belonging to the
transitional belt between the area of floodplain and flood
alluvial plain at an altitude of between 120 m and 145 m.
    Harbin abounds in natural resources. It has farmland,
which has been reclaimed and cultivated for years, as well as
farms, grasslands, forest areas and fish breeding waters to pave
the way for the development of farm, forestry, animal husbandry,
farm produce and fishery. It has five counties (cities) under its jurisdiction. Acheng City is rich in metallic resources such as iron, copper, lead and zinc, and nonmetallic resources including marble with a verified
reserve of more than 200 million tons, granite with a verified
reserve of 400 million cu m, and quality stone materials with a verified reserve of 100 million cu m. Hulan County is known for its advanced farming and one of the state market-oriented grain production bases. Binxian County, one of the state
market-oriented grain production bases, enjoys the reputation of a "hometown of soybeans", and produces more than 100 million kg of soybeans annually. It is also one of China's major producing areas for quality flue-cured tobacco. Fangzheng County has 195,000 ha of forests, 70% of its landmass. Major
tree species include Korean pine, northeast China ash, Chinese
linden, poplar and birch. It is rich in mountainous products,
and collects some 500 tons of a dozen types of famous edible
wild herb to export to Japan and other countries. Major minerals
include coal, iron, aluminum, lead, zinc, alluvial gold, copper,
crystal and marble. Yilan County has 187,000-ha of forest areas
with the tree coverage reaching 28%, 10,000 ha of natural pastureland, and 12,000 ha of water surface. The reserve of coal is estimated at more than 270 million tons.
    Through 50 years of development, especially since China initiated the reform and open policy in 1979, Harbin has grown into a comprehensive city with such domestically advanced key industries as electronics, bearing, pharmaceuticals, and flax.
It ranks 13th among the top 50 cities in terms of economic strength in China, and is one of the 40 cities with the best investment conditions in the country. In 1995, it generated gross domestic product (GDP) of 39.35 billion yuan, an
increase of 12.6% over the previous year, and the per capita GDP
averaged 6,917 yuan. Included were the added value of the primary
industry totaling 4.84 billion yuan. By the end of 1995, it had formed 73 enterprise groups. The Harbin Power Equipment Group Corporation is one of China's leading power generating
equipment manufacturers. The number of power generating equipment it produced has accounted for at least one third of the country's total.  Harbin is advanced in science, technology and education. It has 23 universities and colleges and more than 300 research institutes employing 383,000 researchers and technicians. There are 603 scientists and technicians among every 10,000 people in the state enterprises and institutions. The contribution by scientific progress accounts for 32.28% of the economic growth. For every 10,000 people, 127 study in colleges and universities, and 498 in middle schools. The rate of making the nine-year compulsory education  universal has reached 55%. Harbin ranks sixth among Chinese cities in terms of comprehensive strength of science and technology.
    The city has completed a number of key urban infrastructure projects. According to the plan for the urban road network, it has built and transformed 19 overpasses, underground pavements
and footbridges; widened and constructed 20 trunk urban roads
such as the Inner Ring West Road and the Zhongshan Road; completed Hayi gas and natural gas projects, and the first, second and third phases of water supply facilities. It has built and expanded the Majiagou Airport heating-supply and Nangang thermal network projects and transformed Zhanqian Square. All urban telephone switches have become program-controlled and digitized with a combined capacity of 837,000 lines. So far, the tension for urban transport, telecommunications, and the supply of gas, heat and water has been eased. The infrastructure of transport has been further improved with the completion of the Harbin Highway Passenger Transport Center, the second entrance of the Ha-Tong Highway and a highway leading to the airport. With the ever-improving environment, Harbin has been chosen as one of China's "ten best cities of sanitation city" with a comprehensive treatment in urban environment.
    The Harbin High-Tech Industrial Development Zone became a member of one of the first groups of state high-tech industrial development zones with the State Council approval in March 1991. At present, the zone covers 39.8 sq km. In 1995, its gross industrial output value accounted for 16.06% of the city's total. The zone has undertaken 938 high-tech industrial projects. The Harbin Economic and Technology Development Zone became a state development zone in April 1993, and has made headway in attracting investment and large productive and high-tech projects. By the end of 1995, 299 enterprises funded by investors from 22 countries and regions had settled down in the zone with a combined investment of 990 million U.S. dollars. Of these enterprises, 109 had an investment of over million dollars each, and 31 had investment of over 10 million dollars each. The zone has generated a combined gross industrial output value of 5.5 billion yuan, and profits and taxes totaling 900 million yuan. It has exported 14.36 million dollars worth of goods overseas.