Hegang

About Hegang

Hegang is a prefecture-level city in Heilongjiang province of China, situated in the southeastern section of the Lesser Khingan Range, facing Jiamusi across the Songhua River to the south and Russia's Jewish Autonomous Oblast across the Amur River to the north. Hegang is one of the principal coal-producing cities in China. Hegang covers an administrative area of 14,679.88 km2 (5,667.93 sq mi) and according to the 2020 Chinese census, has a population of 891,271 inhabitants, of whom 545,404 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of 6 urban districts. By the end of 2024, the total registered population of the city was estimated at 935,000, including 756,000 in urban areas.

The region of Hegang was a desolate and uninhabited area until the late 1890s. In 1906, the area of Hegang City was under the administration of Tangyuan County under the Qing Dynasty. Since then, the government has been encouraging people to farm in the region. In 1914, a coalfield was discovered in Haoli, and Heilongjiang Government approved to set up Xinghua Mines (興華煤礦) which is jointly invested by merchants including...

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.