Guide to Harbin
Heilongjiang
@Heilongjiang is situated in north-eastern China. To the east and north of
Heilongjiang is Russia, to the south is the Chinese province of Ji-lin
Sheng, and to the west is the People's Republic of Mongolia. Heilongjiang
covers an area of 460,000 sq. km. which is larger than Japan (372,000 sq.
km.). The population of Heilongjiang is 34,420,000.
Harbin
@Harbin is the provincial capital of Heilongjiang. Its population is
2,370,000 and it is the center of Heilongjiang province's economy. Harbin
compares with Beijing and Snaghai as a center of government and economy.
Along with beautiful scenery, Harbin is also well known in China as a center
of culture, the arts and music, sometimes being called the 'Music City' of
China.
@It's latitude is as high as that of the northen edge of Japan (top of
Hokkaido). Because Heilongjiang is an inland province, Harbin is hot in
summer and cold, dry and snowy in winter. The winds blowing from Siberia
make Heilongjiang the coldest district in China during the winters. Because
of these cold winters, Harbin hosts the bing xue jie (it means 'ice
festival') which runs from the beginning of January (Jan. 5th) until the
middle or end of February (the actual end of the festival coincides with the
end of the Chinese New Year which varies from year to year). In the middle
of Harbin is Zhao Lin Park where during the festival many people create a
variety of ice sculptures. Such things as statues and buildings. In the
evenings, many of the sculptures are lit with many different colors of lamps
that create a beautiful night-time scene.
@To travel to Harbin from Japan, one must first fly to Beijing or Dailian;
China Airlines, Japan Airlines, and All Nippon Airways have (daily) flights
from Japan. From either of these cities there are domestic flights to
Harbin, taking an hour and a half to reach the Harbin airpor
The University of Heilongjiang
The University of Heilongjiang is the largest national university in the
province. Originally founded as the Foreign Languages School in 1941, the
school was expanded in 1958 and changed to its present name. The University
consists of two institutes, the Institute of Economic Developments and
Institute of Foreign Languages. Within these two institute there are 13
departments -- Chinese, Russian, English, Japanese, History, Philosophy,
Economic, Law, Library and Information Science, Mathematics, Computer
Science, Physics, and Chemistry. Within these departments there are 41
specialties. There are 4,500 regular students enrolled, including 500
exchange students from Japan, the USA, Russia, etc. Additionally, there are
3,000 students enrolled in night school programs offered at the University.
There are 264 professors and associate professors; the total staff of the
University is over 1,800 people.