Heilongjiang is China's northernmost and easternmost province, a vast land of black soil plains, primeval forests, volcanic lakes, and Siberian-cold winters along the Amur (Heilong) River border with Russia. Its capital Harbin blends Russian-era architecture with the world's largest ice and snow festival, while Mohe, the Arctic Village, offers China's best chances of seeing the aurora and the midnight sun. Wetlands, ski resorts, crane habitats, and Hezhen and Manchu heritage complete a region that swings from -30C winters to warm, short summers.
Historical timeline
Key moments that shaped Heilongjiang.
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1
Bohai Kingdom Makes Shangjing Its Capital
The Balhae (Bohai) kingdom, a Tang-influenced state of Mohe and Goguryeo peoples, establishes Shangjing Longquanfu near modern Ning'an as its capital; it serves as capital 756-785 and again 793-926
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2
Fall of Bohai
The Khitan Liao dynasty conquers the Bohai kingdom and its capital declines, leaving the ruins later preserved at Dongjingcheng
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3
Jurchen Found the Jin Dynasty
Aguda unites the Jurchen tribes on the Ashi River in present-day Acheng and proclaims the Jin dynasty
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4
Shangjing Huiningfu Built
Emperor Taizong of Jin orders a planned capital at Huiningfu, modelled on the Northern Song capital Bianjing; it serves as the first Jin capital until 1153
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5
Wudalianchi Eruption
Laoheishan and Huoshaoshan volcanoes erupt in 1720-21, damming a river and creating the five linked lakes of Wudalianchi
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6
Treaty of Aigun
Russia and Qing China sign the Treaty of Aigun at Aihui on the Amur River, ceding the left bank of the Amur to Russia
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7
Chinese Eastern Railway Construction Begins
Russia begins building the Chinese Eastern Railway across Manchuria and founds Harbin as its administrative hub, drawing Russian, Jewish and other European settlers
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8
Old Synagogue Consecrated
Harbin's Jewish community consecrates its first synagogue on Tongjiang Street; the community grows to about 20,000 by the 1920s
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9
Japanese Occupation of Harbin
Japan occupies Harbin in February 1932 and folds Heilongjiang into its puppet state of Manchukuo
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10
Unit 731 Begins Operations
The Japanese army's biological-warfare research unit establishes its base at Pingfang; it operates until 1945
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11
Soviet Entry and Liberation
The Soviet Union invades Manchuria in August 1945 and Japanese rule ends; Unit 731 facilities are destroyed by retreating forces
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12
Songhua River Flood
A major flood threatens Harbin; residents build embankments, and the Flood Control Memorial Tower is completed in 1958
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13
Wudalianchi Becomes UNESCO Global Geopark
Wudalianchi is included among China's first UNESCO-designated Global Geoparks
Historical sites
Places where Heilongjiang's past comes alive.
Unit 731 Museum (Exhibition Hall of Evidence of Crimes by Unit 731)
The memorial museum on the site of the Japanese Imperial Army's biological-warfare research unit, documenting human experimentation and germ-warfare programs. Preserved ruins and a modern exhibition hall present the evidence.
Where: Pingfang District, Harbin
Admission: Free (CNY 0, ~$0); advance reservation required
Saint Sophia Cathedral (Harbin Architecture Art Museum)
A Byzantine-style Russian Orthodox cathedral begun in 1907 as a military church for Russian troops on the Chinese Eastern Railway and completed in 1932. Today it houses photographs and exhibits on Harbin's architectural history.
Where: Daoli District, Harbin
Admission: CNY 20 (~$3)
Harbin Old Synagogue (Old Synagogue Concert Hall)
The first synagogue in Harbin, built in 1909 at 82 Tongjiang Street and used as a synagogue until 1963. Restored and reopened in 2014 as a concert hall.
Where: Daoli District, Harbin
Admission: Free to view the exterior; performances ticketed separately
Harbin Museum of Jewish History and Culture (New Synagogue)
Housed in the 1921 New Synagogue at 162 Jingwei Street, restored and reopened as a museum in 2004, it documents the lives of some 20,000 Jewish residents of Harbin through photographs, documents and personal items.
Where: Daoli District, Harbin
Admission: CNY 20 (~$3) reported
Central Street (Zhongyang Dajie) Architecture
A 1,450 m cobbled pedestrian street of Baroque, Art Nouveau and Renaissance-revival buildings from the early 1900s, laid out by Russian railway engineers and merchants; many have been converted to cafes, shops and hotels.
Where: Daoli District, Harbin
Admission: Free (CNY 0, ~$0)
Museum of Heilongjiang Province
The province's main museum, holding natural history, Northeast ethnic cultures and archaeology including Bohai and Jin dynasty finds.
Where: Nangang District, Harbin
Admission: Free (CNY 0, ~$0); passport and advance reservation required
Jin Shangjing History Museum (Shangjing Huiningfu Site)
A museum and archaeological site on the first capital of the Jurchen Jin dynasty, Shangjing Huiningfu, used 1122-1153. It displays Jin dynasty artifacts and interprets the rise of the Jurchen state.
Where: Acheng District, Harbin
Admission: Free (CNY 0, ~$0); reservation advised
Bohai Shangjing Longquanfu Archaeological Site Park
The ruins of the Bohai capital, modelled on Tang Chang'an at about one fifth of its scale, with an outer city, inner city and palace city; a national archaeological park and site museum interpret the excavations.
Where: Ning'an, Mudanjiang
Admission: Price not verified for 2026; budget roughly CNY 40-60 (~$6-9) and confirm on Trip.com
Northeast Martyrs Memorial Museum (东北烈士纪念馆)
A memorial museum honouring revolutionary martyrs of Northeast China, including fighters of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, in a former Harbin building complex.
Where: Nangang District, Harbin
Admission: Free (CNY 0, ~$0)
Harbin Flood Control Memorial Tower
A colonnaded tower completed in 1958 at the river end of Central Street to commemorate residents' fight against the 1957 Songhua River flood.
Where: Daoli District, Harbin
Admission: Free (CNY 0, ~$0)
Aihui Historical Exhibition Hall and Old Aihui (Treaty of Aigun site)
Old Aihui on the Amur River, opposite Russia's Blagoveshchensk, is where the 1858 Treaty of Aigun was signed. A local exhibition hall interprets the treaty and the frontier history.
Where: Aihui District, Heihe
Admission: Price not verified for 2026; budget roughly CNY 30-60 (~$4.50-9) and confirm locally
Harbin Confucius Temple (Wenmiao)
One of the largest Confucian temples in Northeast China, built in the 1920s in traditional Chinese style, now housing the Harbin Confucius Temple museum and gallery.
Where: Nangang District, Harbin
Admission: Price not verified for 2026; budget roughly CNY 10-30 (~$1.50-4.50) and confirm at the gate