"Hailar" redirects here. For other uses, see Hailar (disambiguation).
Hailar
District
Native name海拉尔区 •
CountryChina
Autonomous regionInner Mongolia
Prefecture-level cityHulunbuir
District seatZhengyang Subdistrict
Area total1319.8 km²
Elevation614 m
Population as of2020
Population total365,012
Time zoneChina Standard (UTC+8)
Coordinates49.2347°N 119.8245°E
Postal code021000
Area code0470
Websitewww.hailar.gov.cn
Hailar District
S海拉尔区
T海拉爾區
PHǎilā'ěr Qū
MonrQayilar toɣoriɣ
MonХайлаар Дүүрэг

Hailar District, formerly a county-level city, is an urban district that serves as the seat of the prefecture-level city Hulunbuir in northeastern Inner Mongolia, China.[1]

Long known as the "Pearl of the Grasslands", Hailar acts as a gateway between China and Russia. The district spans an area of 1,319.8 square kilometers,[1] and has an estimated population of 365,000 as of 2010.[2] The district serves as a regional center for commerce, trade, and transportation.

History

Hailar was founded as a Chinese fort in 1734, and during the administration of the Republic of China, it was the capital city of Xing'an Province. It was a center of agricultural production on the historical Chinese Eastern Railway. Once known as Hulun, Hailar today is a relatively small, but thriving modern industrial city of around 300,000, its population has soared from an estimated 20,000 in the mid-20th century.

After the Mukden Incident in 1931, Japan invaded China's northeastern provinces and established the puppet state of Manchukuo. Hailar Fortress, a huge underground Japanese fortress, was completed in 1937 by forced Chinese laborers. The Kwantung Army garrisoned in Manchukuo built the fortress complex as one of the biggest Japanese fortifications in Manchukuo. Some of the fiercest fighting of the Soviet–Japanese War in August 1945 took place around Hailar. Prisoners of war and civilians were massacred by the Kwantung Army in August 1945 during the final month of World War II.[3][4] The World Anti-fascist War Hailar Memorial Park, a museum and war memorial, is built on the site of the Hailar Fortress, parts of the fortress tunnels are open for public viewing.[4]

Transportation

Hulunbeier Hailar Airport serves the city, with flights to Beijing and Shenyang amongst others. Hailar's railway station is the penultimate major station before Manzhouli, the port city that stands close to the Russian border. It is on the famous Western line of the Trans-Siberian express route and China National Highway 301. Trains to Harbin take about 12 hours, and 27 to Beijing. Hailar has a frequent series of buses that cover the town.

Geography

Hailar is located in close proximity to the Greater Xing'an Mountains, and has an elevation ranging from 603.0 to 776.6 m (1,978.3 to 2,547.9 ft).[1] Of the city's 1,319.8 square kilometers, 28 square kilometers (or 2.12%) of the district is urban.[1]

Administrative divisions

Hailar is divided into 7 subdistricts and 2 towns:[2][5]

NameSimplified ChineseHanyu PinyinMongolian (Hudum Script)Mongolian (Cyrillic)Administrative division code
Subdistricts
Zhengyang Subdistrict正阳街道Zhèngyáng JiēdàoЖен ян зээл гудамж150702001
Jiankang Subdistrict健康街道Jiànkāng JiēdàoЖаан кан зээл гудамж150702002
Kaoshan Subdistrict靠山街道Kàoshān JiēdàoКоо шин зээл гудамж150702003
Shengli Subdistrict胜利街道Shènglì JiēdàoШен ли зээл гудамж150702004
Hulun Subdistrict呼伦街道Hūlún JiēdàoГүүлэн зээл гудамж150702005
Jianshe Subdistrict建设街道Jiànshè JiēdàoЖаанше зээл гудамж150702007
Dongshan Subdistrict东山街道Dōngshān JiēdàoЗүүн уул даахь зээл гудамж150702008
Towns
Hag Town哈克镇Hākè ZhènХаг балгас150702100
Fendou Town奋斗镇Fèndòu ZhènФендуй балгас150702101

Climate

Hailar has a dry-winter humid continental climate (Köppen Dwb). Winters are long, very dry and severe, due to the semi−permanent Siberian High, while summers are short, though very warm, and rather wet, due to the East Asian monsoon. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −24.8 °C (−12.6 °F) in January to 20.4 °C (68.7 °F) in July, while the annual mean is −0.40 °C (31.3 °F). With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 55% in December to 69% in February, sunshine is abundant year-round, and the annual total is 2,719 hours. More than two-thirds of the annual rainfall occurs during the three summer months. The Mohe-Huma-Hailar triangle between northern Heilongjiang and Northeastern Inner Mongolia, which is almost equivalent to China's subarctic climate zone, suffers the most severe cold winter in China. Hailar's extreme temperatures ranges from −48.2 to 37.7 °C (−54.8 to 99.9 °F).[citation needed]

Culture

Hailar is a multi-ethnic town, with notable Han, Mongolian, Hui, Daur, Evenki, Russian populations.[2] As such, signs are usually bilingual and Mongolian influence pervades in songs played on shop CD players, domes on buildings and the everyday speech of some locals.

Composer Vladimir Ussachevsky was born in Hailar, as well as leading news anchor Bai Yansong;[6] the folk metal band Nine Treasures also originated in Hailar.[7]

Sister city

References

  1. ^ "zh:走进海拉尔" (in zh-cn). Hailar District People's Government. Archived 2019-10-20 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  2. ^ "zh:海拉尔区概况地图". XZQH.org. 2013-04-23. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  3. ^ Zapotoczny, Walter (2017). Beyond Duty: The Reason Some Soldiers Commit Atrocities. Fonthill Media. p. 171.
  4. ^ Wang, Kaihao (August 8, 2013). "Tale as old as the grassland". China Daily
  5. ^ "zh:2022年统计用区划代码". National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  6. ^ Song, Yuwu (2013). Biographical Dictionary of the People's Republic of China. McFarland. p. 15.
  7. ^ ago, Matt Nolan 3 years (2015-03-31). "Nine Treasures – Mongolian Nomadic Folk Metal". AudioPhix. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  8. ^ "Sister cities of Inner Mongolia". Archived from the original on 2013-05-14. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
  9. ^ "海拉尔区和成吉思市缔结友好城市". 呼伦贝尔市人民政府外事办公室. 自治区外事办. Archived from the original on 2021-03-05. Retrieved 2018-10-19.