Qiqihar overview 齐齐哈尔

About Qiqihar

In the city, Bukui Mosque preserves two historically separate prayer compounds, while Longsha Park offers the lake and hilltop Wangjiang Pavilion of a traditional public garden. The surrounding country has a different scale: Zhalong's reeds, shallow water and crane habitat call for a dedicated excursion. Keep the urban architecture and wetland visit as separate parts of the trip, leaving time to understand both.

'Qiqihar' derives from a Khitan-era garrison term recorded in 916, later rendered through Jurchen, Mongol, Daur and Manchu forms meaning frontier or natural pasture. The city was founded in 1125, and from 1699 to 1954 it served as the provincial capital of Heilongjiang. Its oldest mosque, the Bukui Mosque, predates the city's founding by seven years; the settlement's early name, Bukui (卜奎), came from a Dagur word meaning auspicious. In 1903 the completion of the Chinese Eastern Railway made Qiqihar a hub for communication between China and Russia, with rail lines later extended across northwestern Heilongjiang.

Qiqihar became a major garrison center during the Russian Empire's eastward advance, with a stronghold built in 1691 during a Qing campaign against the Mongols, and by around 1700 it was a center of Russo-Chinese trade with a military depot and arsenal. The Qing government initially kept the area as semi-pastoral land, restricting migrant settlers such as those from Hebei and Shandong from owning farms, before lifting these restrictions in 1868, 1878 and 1904.

Qiqihar lies in the western Songnen Plain, with the Nen River running the length of the city; the surrounding land is flat, covering 42,289 square kilometers at an average elevation of 146 meters, with lower-lying ground to the east and south.

What to look for

• Bukui Mosque's eastern and western compounds.
• Wangjiang Pavilion above Longsha Park's Laodong Lake.
• Zhalong's reed-and-lake wetland landscape on a separate excursion.

The surrounding area

Western city base for shared barbecue and a separate Zhalong wetland excursion.

Location & getting there

Getting to Qiqihar

Rail arrivals use Qiqihar station or Qiqihar South station; check which is printed on your ticket before arranging the transfer into the city.

• For the central garden visit, use Longsha Park on Gongyuan Road. Zhalong is outside the centre in Zhalong Town.