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 having 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 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]
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]
Hailar has a dry-winter humid continental climate (KöppenDwb). 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]
Climate data for Hailar District (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1909-present)
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.
