Qiqihar

Qiqihar[a] is the second-largest city in the Heilongjiang province of China, in the west central part of the province. The built-up (or metro) area made up of Longsha, Tiefeng and Jianhua districts had 959,787 inhabitants, while the total population of the prefecture-level city was shrinking to 4,067,489 as of the 2020 census (5,367,003 as of 2010).[1] These are mainly Han Chinese, though the city is also home to thirty-four minorities including Manchus, Daur, and Mongols.[2] Close to Qiqihar are numerous wetlands and the Zhalong Nature Reserve, famous in China for being home to numerous red-crowned cranes. "Qiqihar" is a Dagur word meaning "border" or "natural pasture".[3] The name Qiqihar comes from Manchu: ᠴᡳᠴᡳᡥᠠᡵ, Möllendorff: Cicihar, Abkai: Qiqihar, IPA: /t͡ɕʰi.t͡ɕʰi.χar/.