Daqing

prefecture-level city in Heilongjiang, China

Daqing (Chinese: 大庆; pinyin: Dàqìng; used to be romanized as Taching) is a city in Heilongjiang province, China. Daqing is a prefecture-level city, which means it ranks below a province and above a county. The city is called the "Oil Capital of China" because oil was discovered at the Daqing Oil Field in 1959.[2] It is one of China's most well-known places because of this.

Daqing
大庆市
View from Sanyong Lake
View from Sanyong Lake
Daqing City (red) in Heilongjiang (orange)
Daqing City (red) in Heilongjiang (orange)
Coordinates: 46°35′N 125°00′E / 46.583°N 125.000°E / 46.583; 125.000
CountryPeople's Republic of China
ProvinceHeilongjiang
County-level divisions9
Government
 • TypePrefecture-level city
 • CPC Daqing SecretaryHan Xuejian (韩学键)
 • MayorXia Lihua (夏立华)
Area
 • Prefecture-level city22,161 km2 (8,556 sq mi)
 • Urban
5,107 km2 (1,972 sq mi)
 • Metro
2,734.6 km2 (1,055.8 sq mi)
Elevation
149 m (489 ft)
Population
 (2010 census)[1]
 • Prefecture-level city2,904,532
 • Density130/km2 (340/sq mi)
 • Urban
1,649,825
 • Urban density320/km2 (840/sq mi)
 • Metro
1,415,268
 • Metro density520/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code
163000
Area code0459
Licence plates黑E
ISO 3166-2cn-23-06
GDP (2010)CNY 290.0 billion (35th)
 - per capitaCNY 103,576 (5th)
ClimateDwa

The population of Daqing was 2,963,458 in 2010. Close to 1,400,000 people lived in the urban parts of town.[1]

History change

In 1898, Russia built the Chinese Eastern Railway in the area. There is a station called Sartu in the area that is still in use.[3]

In 1959, oil was found in the Daqing Oil Field. It stopped the oil shortage in China. It was the largest oil field in the 1960s to the 1980s. It has 48 oil and gas fields. In 1960, the oil field began production. Over the next 50 years, the oil field produced over 50 million tons of oil. It has produced more than 40% of China's oil exports.[2] It is the second most productive oil and gas field in China.[4]

In 1959, a town close to the Daqing Oil Field was created. It was to house workers and to help companies and industries use the resources. In 1960, another city was created nearby, named Anda City. This city controlled the Daqing Oil Field area. The town grew too large eventually and became a special administrative region. In 1979, the city was renamed Daqing, after the oil field.[5]

In the 1960s, Mao Zedong said the slogan "In industry, learn from Daqing". It meant that Daqing was very important for the Chinese industry. Daqing oil workers set an example for how cities in China should be.[6]

Daqing has protested the Chinese government sometimes. In 2002, close to 100,000 oil workers from Daqing and Liaoyang gathered to protest how the government handled money and paid them.[7][8] In 2017, there were plans to build an aluminum plant in Daqing. Thousands of people protested against the plans.[9]

Geography change

Daqing is in the Songnen Plain, in a flat area. It has an average elevation of 146 metres (479 feet). The city is 150 kilometres (93 miles) southeast of Harbin and 139 kilometres (86 miles) northwest of Qiqihar.

Economy change

 
First well drilled by Wang Jinxi

Daqing's economy is mainly based on oil and petroleum. There are lots of major pipelines that transport oil to and from the rest of China and Russia. In 2013, Russia agreed to send oil to China. That oil will be going through the pipeline to Daqing.[10] Close to 60% of the gross domestic product (GDP) was because of petroleum and oil exports. Daqing had a GDP of 298 billion renminbi in 2015.[11]

Daqing exports over 10 million tonnes of oil each year. Wax, tar, and benzene were also exported to countries including the United States. The main exports are oil and gas, construction materials, food, and furniture.[12]

Transportation change

Daqing is a major railway stop in Heilongjiang. It connects two major railways, the Harbin-Manzhouli Railway and the Tongliao-Ranghulu Railway. It also has three major railway stations. Daqing also has an airport, the Daqing Sartu Airport. It opened on 1 September 2009. It has flights to large cities like Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai.[13] Daqing is linked to the Chinese highway network through the G45 Daqing-Guangzhou Expressway and the G10 Suifenhe-Manzhouli Expressway.

References change

  1. 1.0 1.1 "黑龙江省2010年第六次全国人口普查主要数据公报". Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "1959年发现大庆油田:中国结束油荒历史". Netease News (in Chinese). 16 November 2017. Archived from the original on 20 July 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  3. "滨洲铁路简介". 火车旅行网 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 21 February 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  4. "PetroChina Company Limited : PetroChina Achieves Record High in Oil and Gas Production in 2012 Steady Improvement in All the Business Segments". 4-Traders. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  5. "Daqing". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  6. Hama, Katsuhiko (June 1980). "The Daqing Oil Field: A Model in China's Struggle for Rapid Industrialization". The Developing Economies. 18 (2): 180–205. doi:10.1111/j.1746-1049.1980.tb00410.x. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  7. "The Liaoyang Protest Movement of 2002-03, and the Arrest, Trial and Sentencing of the "Liaoyang Two"". China Labour Bulletin. 7 July 2003. Archived from the original on 10 March 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  8. Chang, Gordon G. (December 2006). "China in revolt". Commentary.
  9. "Thousands Protest Aluminum Plant in Chinese Oil City of Daqing". Radio Free Asia. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  10. "China Economy: Learning From Daqing". Business Insider. 30 September 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  11. "2015年黑龙江各市GDP和人均GDP排名". PHBang.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  12. "Daqing Business Guide - Economic Overview". eChinacities. Archived from the original on 2 December 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  13. "2015年民航机场吞吐量排名". Civil Aviation Administration of China (in Chinese). Retrieved 13 November 2017.

Other websites change

46°35′N 125°00′E / 46.583°N 125.000°E / 46.583; 125.000