Geography&Population
qiqihar
©ERINA
maru Location: 122.24 - 126.41 degrees east, 46.13 - 48.56 degrees north
maru Area: 42,289 km2, of which the main urban area accounts for 431 km2
maru Population: 5.596 million, of which 1.94 million live in the main urban area (end of 2000)
maru Climate: Temperate zone continental monsoon climate; annual average hours of sunshine 2,600 - 2,900 hours, annual average rainfall 400 - 550 mm
maru Education: 3 universities, with a total of 16,078 students. Qiqihar University, Qiqihar Medical Institute, Qiqihar Vocational College.
maru Ethnic groups: 35 ethnic groups other than Han, including Manchu, Daur, Mongol, Hui, Korean, Ewenki, Kirgiz, Xibe, Oroqen, Miao, Zhuang and Hezhe.

Major Macroeconomic Indices
maru GDP $3.241 billion (1999), $3.421 billion (2000)
maru Per capita GDP $587.2(1999), $613.16(2000)
maru GDP growth rate 7.3%(1999), 5.8%(2000)
maru Industrial structure (share of GDP): 30.6: 31.1: 38.3 (1999), 28.3: 37.1: 40.0 (2000)
maru Fixed asset investment $384 million (1999), $534 million (2000)
maru Foreign trade Exports: $35.04 million (1999), $29.89 million (2000)
Imports: $13.44 million (1999), $66.55 million (2000)
maru Major exports Textiles, chemical products, metal and mineral products, light industrial products, machinery and equipment, apparel, foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals
maru Major trading partners the US, Russia, France, the ROK, Germany
maru Foreign capital inflow $10.50 million (1999), $11.05 million (2000)
* Exchange rate    RMB 827.83 = $100 (1999), RMB 827.84 = $100 (2000)

Position Within the Province
Position Within Heilongjiang Province
maru Share of total area: 9.3%
maru Share of population: 14.7%
maru Share of total GDP: 8.7%

Major Industries & Industrial Zones
maru Major industries
Machinery, metallurgy, electronics, light industry, textiles, chemical industry, construction materials, paper manufacturing, foodstuffs, etc.
maru Major companies
CHFI, Beiman Special Steel, Huahe Wood Group Co.Ltd., Heilongjiang Beidacang Alcohol Group Co.Ltd.
maru Industrial zones
Qiqihar Foreign Trade Investment Zone is a province-level development zone. It covers an area of 3.31 million m2, is home to 30 companies and its total production is worth RMB 262 million

Eternal Relations
maru Sister cities
Utsunomiya (Japan, 1984)
Goyang (ROK, 1998)

Access
maru Shipping routes
7 domestic river shipping routes, linking Qiqihar with Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang, Dalian, Heihe and Hailar
maru Rail routes
4 direct trains per day to Beijing, 16 trains per day to Harbin. 58 trains pass through the station each day. In 1999, the station handled 28.15 million passengers, dispatched 30.23 million tons of cargo and received 40.05 million tons of cargo.

Reference
Qiqihar is famed for its red-crowned cranes and is called "the home of the crane". Zhalong Nature Reserve is a wetland covering an area of 420 km2 and is a famous tourist destination that is home to 230 bird species.
Number of telephones: 470,000 fixed-line phones, 132,000 mobile phones, 216,000 pagers
Water system: daily production capacity 580,000 tons, total volume supplied 113.71 million m3, volume of water for household use 71.25 million m3
Sewer system: total length of pipes 491 km, volume of sewage emitted 272.18 million m3
Electricity used: 3.69 billion kw/h
Gas: 14,000 tons of petroleum gas and 23.77 million m3 of natural gas supplied; volume of gas for household use 14.09 million m3

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