Heilongjiang

Province of northeast China, bordered to the north and east by Russia, to the south by Jilin, and to the northwest by Inner Mongolia; area 463,600 sq km/178,950 sq mi; population (2000 est) 36,890,000. The capital is Harbin; other main cities are Qiqihar, Hegang, and Jiamusi, but much of the province is thinly populated. China's largest oilfield is located in the province, at Daqing, and coal is mined in the east of Heilongjiang; other industries are engineering, including the manufacture of machinery, tools, and building materials, food-processing, timber and wood products, and also ice-skates, of which the province is one of the world's leading producers. Agriculture is based on wheat, maize, sugar beet, soya beans, dairy farming, and sheep rearing.

History
The borders of Heilongjiang were disputed by the Russians and the Chinese from the 17th to 19th centuries, when China ceded large territories to the province's north and east to Russia. From 1900 to 1917 it was occupied by the Russians. In 1931 the Japanese seized the area when they invaded Manchuria, and it became part of the Japanese-controlled state of Manchukuo (1932–45). The Japanese were responsible for developing much of the region's industry and infrastructure.