Daqing

Daqing 大庆
—  Prefecture-level city  —
Daqing (red) in Heilongjiang province (orange) and China
Daqing Location in Heilongjiang
Coordinates: 46°35′N 125°0′E / 46.583°N 125°E / 46.583; 125
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Heilongjiang
Area
– Prefecture-level city	8,556.4 sq mi (22,161 km2)
– Urban	2,123.6 sq mi (5,500 km2)
– Metro	1,260.6 sq mi (3,265 km2)
Population (2010 census)
– Prefecture-level city	2,904,532
– Density	339.5/sq mi (131.1/km2)
– Urban	1,323,252
– Urban density	623.1/sq mi (240.6/km2)
– Metro	1,042,902
– Metro density	827.3/sq mi (319.4/km2)
Time zone	China standard time (UTC+8)
Website	http://www.daqing.gov.cn/

Daqing (simplified Chinese: 大庆; traditional Chinese: 大慶; pinyin: Dàqìng; formerly spelled "Taching") (pronounced Da Tshing) is a prefecture-level city in the west of Heilongjiang province of Northeast China. The name literally means "Great Celebration". Located in China’s Harbin-Daqing-Qiqihar Industrial Corridor, Daqing is known as the Oil Capital of China and has experienced a phenomenal boom. Since oil was discovered here in the 1960s, Daqing was originally used as a settlement for petroleum workers, and became the most important city for the petrochemicals industry and petroleum extraction in China.

Its population is 2,904,532 at the 2010 census whom 1,042,902 in the built up area made of 4 out of 5 urban districts (Sartu, Longfeng, Ranghulu and Honggang)

Administrative divisions

Daqing is divided into 9 county-level divisions: 5 districts, 3 counties and 1 autonomous county.

Map
#	Name	Hanzi	Hanyu Pinyin	Population (2003 est.)	Area (km²)	Density (/km²)
1	Sartu District	萨尔图区	Sà'ěrtú Qū	260,000	549	474
2	Longfeng District	龙凤区	Lóngfèng Qū	160,000	510	314
3	Ranghulu District	让胡路区	Rànghúlù Qū	380,000	1,394	273
4	Datong District	大同区	Dàtóng Qū	250,000	2,235	112
5	Honggang District	红岗区	Hónggǎng Qū	130,000	812	160
6	Zhaozhou County	肇州县	Zhàozhōu Xiàn	440,000	2,445	180
7	Zhaoyuan County	肇源县	Zhàoyuán Xiàn	450,000	4,198	107
8	Lindian County	林甸县	Líndiàn Xiàn	270,000	3,591	75
9	Dorbod Mongol Autonomous County	杜尔伯特蒙古族自治县	Dù'ěrbótè Měnggǔzú Zìzhìxiàn	250,000	6,427	39

History

Until the Qing Dynasty, the area now known as Daqing was a reasonably insignificant place, known only as a hunting ground due to its wetland and prairies, and consequently it remained unsettled. It grew slightly after Russia constructed the Chinese Eastern Railway through the area with a stop at Saertu. Daqing was founded in 1959 to house workers extracting oil and gas from the Daqing oilfield and to host industries which could take advantage of the energy and petrochemicals. Since its foundation it has been advocated as a model of good practice in industry and healthcare by the Chinese government. The fact that Mao Zedong promulgated his Supreme Directive, In industry, learn from Daqing, in the 1960s reflects how important a role Daqing has historically played in industry in China. The film Entrepreneurial Pioneers (Chinese: 创业), made in the early 1970s, is a literary rendition of the history of Daqing. During the Mao era, Daqing's agricultural counterpart was Dazhai, a village in the hilly Xiyang county, Shanxi Province, for which Chairman Mao issued the directive In agriculture, learn from Dazhai, also in the 1960s.

Demographics

Daqing has a population of 2.58 million, urban population 901,840 of them mainly Han Chinese, with a few population of other 31 minority ethnic groups including Manchu, Mongolian, Korean, and Hui nationalities. The population density is 112.69/km², urban population density 205.07/km².

Climate

Located in the north temperate zone, Daqing belongs to the continental monsoon climate and is affected by the cold air mass from the inland of Mongolia and the monsoon resulted from the warm air mass of the ocean. Generally, the winter is cold with occasional snowfalls, and spring and autumn are prevailed by monsoons. A shorter frost free period, and plenty of rainfall comes in step with the heat, all of which are good for crops and herbage. The yearly average temperature is 5.6 degrees Celsius with a summer average of 22 degrees Celsius, and 2658.1 hours of sunshine, 229 days^{[dubious – discuss]} free of frost in average.^{[citation needed]} The daily difference in temperature can be up to 14 degrees Celsius during the growth period of crops.

Economy

Daqing's economy highly depends on petroleum and related industries. Daqing's oilfield is China's largest oilfield, and the world's fourth most productive oil field. Petroleum accounts for 60.8% of GDP. In 2008 Gross Domestic Product was RMB 222 billion yuan, while GDP Per capita RMB 80,092 (US$11,532), so Daqing is ranked eighth by GDP per capita among 659 Chinese cities. Being the most important petrochemical base in China, Daqing has established five pillar industries, including extraction of petroleum and natural gas, petrochemicals, agricultural product processing, building materials and equipment manufacturing.

Transportation

Daqing is located on the Harbin-Manzhouli Railway.

Culture

Daqing spirit

Daqing has a unique culture centering around the Iron man spirit, which was generated by the history of this city. It consists of patriotism, truth-seeking, entrepreneurial spirit and dedication. Wang Jinxi, a petroleum worker on the Daqing Oilfield who was know as the Iron Man, was honored as a national hero due to his contributions to the petroleum industry of China. In the 1960s, Daqing was established by the central government as a model for the secondary industry. Its entrepreneurial process has two stages: the first involves discovering a large oilfield in the wasteland; the second concerns itself with building a modern city near the oilfield. Films have been made to illuminate the entrepreneurial history of both Daqing and its people.

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in China

Twin towns — Sister cities

Daqing is twinned with:

• Calgary, Canada
• Chungju, North Chungcheong, South Korea
• Luhansk, Ukraine
• Tyumen, Russia

External links

• Daqing Government Website
• Daqing Oilfield Company Ltd.
• Daqing Petroleum Administrative Bureau
• Northeast Petroleum University
• Heilongjiang August First Land Reclamation Institute