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Harbin (Manchu: ᡥᠠᠯᠪᡳᠨ, Mulinde transliteration: Halbin), also known as Habu[5] or Hashi, is located in the northern part of China's Northeast Plain. It is the capital of Heilongjiang Province, the People's Republic of China,[6][7][8], a sub-provincial city, and an important regional center city in Northeast China.[7] Harbin is the political, economic, cultural and foreign-oriented center of northern Northeast China. It is also the largest city in China with the third largest registered population among provincial capitals.[9][8] The city's administrative area covers an area of 10,198 square kilometers.[10] The municipal government is located at No. 1 Century Avenue, Songbei District. It has 45 ethnic minorities and a variety of religious cultures. It is the only city in China where Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Christianity, and Islam coexist. [11]
Harbin is located in the southern part of Heilongjiang Province. It has a temperate continental monsoon climate with an average annual temperature of only 5.2℃. The winter is cold and long, and the summer is warm and short. It is a winter ice and snow tourism and summer resort. It is famous for its annual International Ice and Snow Festival and its strong European style. It is also one of the first batch of excellent tourist cities in China[12] and a famous historical and cultural city in China[13].
Due to its geographical location, Harbin was a bridgehead for Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union to connect with China and the Far East in the first half of the 20th century. It is also an important international trade city in northern China and one of the earliest international cities in China in the 1920s[14]. Harbin's urban architectural style is still deeply influenced by it. Various European-style buildings brought by early Russian, Eastern European, Jewish and other immigrants are scattered throughout the city. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was gradually transformed into a central city with both industry and commerce. Today, Harbin still occupies an important position in international trade[15] and is the permanent rotating host city of the China-Russia Expo[16]. Harbin is known as the pearl of the Eurasian Continental Bridge and is an important hub of the First Eurasian Continental Bridge and the Sky Corridor[8]. According to the "Plan for Border Development and Opening-up in Northeastern Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia" approved by the State Council in 2013[17], Harbin is the center of the border development and opening-up channel, a regional central city in Northeast Asia[18], and also the core city in the northern part of the Harbin-Changchun urban agglomeration. The 9th Asian Winter Games will be held in Harbin in 2025[19].