Beilin District 北林区

Setting and landscape

Six rivers cross the district, among them the Hulan (呼兰河), the Numin (努敏河) and the Ni (泥河), which gives it the local nickname "six rivers and nine banks". More than 80 per cent of the district's soil is black soil, chernozem or meadow soil. The district government gives an average temperature of 2.4°C and a frost-free season of around 129 days. Maize and rice make up most of the grain harvest, and most of the district's large livestock farms raise pigs.

History

The name goes back to three round clumps of forest that stood by the Ni River before the land was opened to settlers: the northern one, Beituanlinzi (北团林子), grew into the present city, and a town was formally founded there in 1862. Han Chinese settlers had arrived in the Qianlong and Jiaqing reigns, when the Qing allowed migrants from the central plains to "venture beyond the pass" (闯关东).

In 1885 the Qing set up a sub-prefecture here and named it Suihua, which the district government reads as "auspicious and peaceful". It became a prefecture in 1905 and a county in 1913, a county-level city in 1982, and in December 1999 was turned into Beilin District.

What to see

The district has 84 immovable heritage sites. The best known are the Sifangtai ancient site (四方台古遗址), the old gate tower of the district government (区政府古门楼) and the Feijibao site (飞机堡侵华日军遗址) left by the Japanese occupation army, all provincial protected sites. Its three scenic areas rated 3A or above are Jingui Mountain Villa (金龟山庄), the Zhengda agricultural culture park (正大农业文化产业园) and a farm eco-park named Heitu Lüzhiyuan (黑土绿之源农业生态观光园).

Northeastern errenzhuan (二人转) duets, Manchu yangge (满族秧歌) dancing and hand-made Nihe pottery (泥河陶) are on the provincial intangible heritage list, and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has named Beilin a "home of Chinese kites" (中国风筝之乡). The district's Longjiang opera (龙江剧) centre staged the modern drama "The Poverty-Relief Secretary" (扶贫书记) 30 times on tour around the country.

Getting oriented

Beilin is a rail junction where the Suihua–Jiamusi (绥佳) and Harbin–Bei'an (滨北) lines meet, and three expressways circle the city. A Suihua South station on the Harbin–Yichun high-speed line is under construction.

Highlights

• Sifangtai ancient site 四方台古遗址: Provincial protected site among the district's 84 immovable heritage sites.
• Feijibao site 飞机堡侵华日军遗址: Provincial protected site left by the Japanese occupation army.
• Nihe pottery 泥河陶: Traditional hand-made pottery on the provincial intangible heritage list.
• Beilin kites 北林风筝: Kite-making is municipal intangible heritage; Beilin is named a home of Chinese kites.