Songyuan (松原)

1. Introduction

Songyuan City, formerly known as Boduna, Xincheng, and Fuyu, is a prefecture-level city under the jurisdiction of Jilin Province, People's Republic of China, located in the northern part of Jilin Province. The city borders Changchun City to the east, Siping City to the south, Tongliao City of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to the southwest, Baicheng City to the northwest, Daqing City of Heilongjiang Province to the north, and Harbin City of Heilongjiang Province to the northeast. Situated in the Songnen Plain between the upper reaches of the Songhua River and the Nen River, the Songhua River flows diagonally from east to north through the northern part of the city, merging with the Nen River at the northern border before turning eastward. The Lalin River serves as the northeastern boundary river, flowing westward into the Songhua River. The area is dotted with numerous lakes and marshes, with Chagan Lake located in the northwest of the city being the largest lake in the province. The Dabusu Lake in the west is a natural soda lake. The People's Government of Songyuan City is located in Ningjiang District.

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3. History

From the Western Han Dynasty to the Northern Wei Dynasty, the area belonged to the Buyeo Kingdom. During the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, it was part of Zhaozhou. In the early Ming Dynasty, it was known as Sanchahe Guard, later occupied by the Mongols. In the early Qing Dynasty, the Mongols were pacified, and the Boduna Station was established. During the Kangxi era, a brick-walled city was built to its south, named Xincheng (New City). In the Yongzheng era, Changning County was established in Xincheng. In the 32nd year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty (1906), it was upgraded from Boduna Subprefecture to Xincheng Prefecture. In 1913, it was renamed Xincheng County. In 1914, it was renamed Fuyu County. In October 1987, the county was abolished and established as a city. In 1992, Fuyu City was abolished and Songyuan City was established.

3. Geography

Songyuan City is situated between 123°6′ to 126°11′ east longitude and 43°59′ to 45°32′ north latitude. Located in the mid-western part of Jilin Province, it lies on the southern Songnen Plain between the Songhua and Nenjiang rivers in the upper reaches of the Songhua River. It borders Changchun and Siping to the south, Baicheng and the Inner Mongolia Zhelim League to the west, and faces Heilongjiang Province across the Songhua River to the north. Geographically, it happens to be located at the confluence of the Songhua and Nenjiang rivers and roughly midway between them and Harbin City. The city was established in 1992. However, it was later discovered in 2001 during CCTV's production of a commemorative program for Dr. Sun Yat-sen that a full 70 years before the city's founding, Sun Yat-sen had proposed in his The International Development of China to establish a northeastern railway hub named "Dongzhen" (East Town) here to drive the development of Northeast China. Unfortunately, his vision was not realized at the time. Furthermore, during the city's construction, numerous relics from the Liao and Jin dynasties were discovered, proving that this area was already an economic center of Northeast China a thousand years ago.

The urban area straddles the Second Songhua River, consisting of Ningjiang District and Qianguo Town, and is known for its beautiful scenery and pristine natural environment.

3.1 Resources

• Mineral Resources: Petroleum, sand and gravel, quartz sand, glass sand, fire clay, saltpeter, etc.
• Medicinal Plants: Over a hundred species including Fangfeng (Saposhnikovia divaricata), Huangqi (Astragalus membranaceus), Chaihu (Bupleurum chinense), Zhimu (Anemarrhena asphodeloides), etc.
• Wildlife: Rabbit, pheasant, fox, badger, weasel, muskrat, Chinese forest frog (Hashi蟆), etc.
• Local Specialties: Mainly peanuts, garlic, red adzuki beans, reeds, dandelion, garden burnet, etc.

3.2 Climate

Songyuan City belongs to the mid-temperate continental monsoon climate zone. Springs are dry with little rain and rapid warming; summers are hot with concentrated precipitation; autumns are cool with rapid temperature changes, large diurnal temperature ranges, and generally fine weather; winters are long with light snowfall, and are cold and dry. The average January temperature is −16.2°C, and the average July temperature is 23.8°C. The annual average temperature is 4.5°C, with a frost-free period of 135–140 days.

Songyuan City Meteorological Data (1971–2000)

| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year | |-----------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|----------|----------|----------|----------| | Record high °C (°F) | 5.0 (41.0) | 14.9 (58.8) | 20.4 (68.7) | 29.3 (84.7) | 35.7 (96.3) | 36.5 (97.7) | 36.4 (97.5) | 36.2 (97.2) | 31.2 (88.2) | 27.1 (80.8) | 19.0 (66.2) | 10.6 (51.1) | 36.5 (97.7) | | Average high °C (°F) | -9.3 (15.3) | -4.3 (24.3) | 3.9 (39.0) | 14.4 (57.9) | 21.8 (71.2) | 26.6 (79.9) | 28.2 (82.8) | 27.0 (80.6) | 21.6 (70.9) | 13.1 (55.6) | 1.7 (35.1) | -6.8 (19.8) | 11.5 (52.7) | | Daily mean °C (°F) | -15.5 (4.1) | -10.9 (12.4) | -2.2 (28.0) | 7.9 (46.2) | 15.4 (59.7) | 20.9 (69.6) | 23.5 (74.3) | 21.8 (71.2) | 15.5 (59.9) | 6.7 (44.1) | -4.0 (24.8) | -12.5 (9.5) | 5.6 (42.0) | | Average low °C (°F) | -20.6 (-5.1) | -16.5 (2.3) | -8.2 (17.2) | 1.5 (34.7) | 9.0 (48.2) | 15.4 (59.7) | 19.2 (66.6) | 17.2 (63.0) | 9.9 (49.8) | 1.3 (34.3) | -8.7 (16.3) | -17.1 (1.2) | 0.2 (32.4) | | Record low °C (°F) | -33.2 (-27.8) | -31.5 (-24.7) | -24.2 (-11.6) | -12.0 (10.4) | -4.3 (24.3) | 4.4 (39.9) | 10.0 (50.0) | 7.7 (45.9) | -1.2 (29.8) | -13.5 (7.7) | -24.9 (-12.8) | -32.2 (-26.0) | -33.2 (-27.8) | | Average precipitation mm (inches) | 1.6 (0.06) | 2.7 (0.11) | 9.4 (0.37) | 16.3 (0.64) | 40.1 (1.58) | 71.6 (2.82) | 137.3 (5.41) | 97.0 (3.82) | 39.2 (1.54) | 21.8 (0.86) | 6.2 (0.24) | 3.0 (0.12) | 446.2 (17.57) | | Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 2.4 | 2.8 | 3.8 | 5.6 | 8.4 | 12.0 | 13.4 | 11.0 | 7.9 | 5.1 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 79.6 |

4. Administrative Divisions

Songyuan City currently administers 1 district, 2 counties, 1 autonomous county, and manages 1 county-level city on behalf of the province.

• District: Ningjiang District
• County-level City: Fuyu City
• Counties: Qian'an County, Changling County
• Autonomous County: Qian Gorlos Mongol Autonomous County

| Division Code | Division Name | Chinese Pinyin | Area (km²) | Resident Population (2020 Census) | Government Seat | Postal Code | Subdistricts | Towns | Townships | Including: Ethnic Townships | |-------------------|-------------------|---------------------|----------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------|-----------------|------------------|-----------|---------------|--------------------------------| | 220700 | Songyuan City | Songyuan Shi | 21,169.77 | 2,252,994 | Ningjiang District | 138000 | 31 | 43 | 35 | 1 | | 220702 | Ningjiang District | Ningjiang Qu | 1,250.02 | 713,430 | Tuanjie Subdistrict | 138000 | 17 | 4 | 3 | | | 220721 | Qian Gorlos Mongol Autonomous County | Qian Guǒ'ěrluósī Ménggǔzú Zìzhìxiàn | 6,023.45 | 407,385 | Qian Gorlos Town | 131100 | 3 | 9 | 13 | | | 220722 | Changling County | Changling Xiàn | 5,736.31 | 451,620 | Changsheng Subdistrict | 131500 | 3 | 12 | 10 | | | 220723 | Qian'an County | Qian'an Xiàn | 3,512.95 | 205,542 | Rongye Subdistrict | 131400 | 3 | 6 | 4 | | | 220781 | Fuyu City | Fuyu Shì | 4,647.05 | 475,017 | Yucai Subdistrict | 131200 | 5 | 12 | 5 | 1 |

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5. Transportation

• National Highway 203 passes through the area.
• The Changbai Railway and Songtao Railway intersect at Songyuan Station. Additionally, the Beijing–Harbin Railway and Beijing–Harbin High-Speed Railway pass through Fuyu City. The Tongliao–Ranghulu Railway traverses Changling County and Qian'an County.

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6. Population

According to the Seventh National Population Census in 2020, the city's resident population was 2,252,994. Compared with the 2,880,086 people from the Sixth National Population Census, there was a decrease of 627,092 people over the past ten years, a decline of 21.77%, with an average annual growth rate of -2.43%. Among them, the male population was 1,128,600, accounting for 50.09% of the total population; the female population was 1,124,394, accounting for 49.91% of the total population. The overall sex ratio (with females as 100) was 100.37. The population aged 0–14 was 297,160, accounting for 13.19% of the total population; the population aged 15–59 was 1,471,333, accounting for 65.31% of the total population; the population aged 60 and above was 484,501, accounting for 21.5% of the total population, of which the population aged 65 and above was 322,366, accounting for 14.31% of the total population. The urban population was 1,056,361, accounting for 46.89% of the total population; the rural population was 1,196,633, accounting for 53.11% of the total population.

6.1 Ethnic Groups

Among the city's resident population, the Han ethnic group population was 2,154,684, accounting for 95.64%; the total population of ethnic minorities was 98,310, accounting for 4.36%. Compared with the Sixth National Population Census in 2010, the Han population decreased by 636,558, a decline of 22.81%, with its proportion of the total population decreasing by 1.28 percentage points; the total population of ethnic minorities increased by 9,466, a growth of 10.65%, with its proportion of the total population increasing by 1.28 percentage points. Among them, the Mongolian population decreased by 5,512, a decline of 10.07%, with its proportion of the total population increasing by 0.28 percentage points; the Manchu population increased by 2,239, a growth of 9.5%, with its proportion of the total population increasing by 0.33 percentage points; the Korean population increased by 11,617, a growth of 554.51%, with its proportion of the total population increasing by 0.54 percentage points.

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7. Sister Cities

• Cheorwon County, Gangwon Province, South Korea

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Named after the Songnen Plain.

Ningjiang District

Ningjiang District

Han Chinese population accounts for 95.64%; ethnic minorities account for 4.36%

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