Heilongjiang History

Last Update: 2013-4-23; By meimeili

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The Heilongjiang Province is blessed with a long and rich history. There is evidence to suggest that the earliest human beings began to live in Heilongjiang as far back as 30,000 to 40,000 years ago. In more recent times, the ancestors of 3 main ethnic groups—Sushen, Kuaimo, and Dong Hu—inhabited the region, just before the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-206 BC). Fuyu, which was established at the end of the Warring States period (475-221 BC), was the first local center of administration set in Heilongjiang.

In the Tang Dynasty (618-907), 3 prefectures—Shiwei, Heishui, and Bohai—were recognized. Khitans, the ethnic group that set up the Liao Dynasty (907-1125), once captured the Bohai Prefecture and thus established their Dongdan Kingdom. The emporers of the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) changed history once again by naming the capital Huining Fu in the Huining Prefecture (today’s Acheng City in Baicheng County). Finally in the Ming Dynasty (1367-1644), the court set up Nu’er Gandu Prefecture that administered 384 Wei (places for stationing troops in Ming Dynasty) in northeastern China.

 
During the following centuries, Heilongjiang witnessed a series of decisive battles. In the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911), the court set up Heilongjiang Prefecture to administer the drainage areas of Heilongjiang River. In the 1680s, the Qing court won Yakesa Battle over the Russians and signed the Sino-Russia Nibuchu Treaty that set out the eastern boundary of the Sino-Russia countries. Then in the 1850s, Russia forced a series of treaties on the Qing government and captured more than 100 square kilometers of land between the Heilongjiang River and Wusuli River.
 
Japan later took control and captured the Heilongjiang Province on September 18, 1931. After China won the Second Sino-Japanese War in September 1945, 5 provinces was combined into 2 provinces, thus establishing Heilongjiang and Songjiang. Lastly, the 2 provinces were united into the singular Heilongjiang Province with the grand city of Harbin as its capital.