Hailar District, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China

🇨🇳 Hailar District, formerly a county-level city, is an urban district that serves as the seat of the prefecture-level city Hulunbuir in north-eastern Inner Mongolia, China. Hulunbuir, due to its massive size, is a city in administrative terms only, being mainly grassland and rural.

Long known as the "Pearl of the Grasslands", Hailar acts as a gateway between China and Russia. The district spans an area of 1,319.8 square kilometres. The district serves as a regional centre for commerce, trade, and transportation. Hailar is located in close proximity to the Greater Xing'an Mountains, and has an elevation ranging from 603.0 to 776.6 m.

History Hailar was founded as a Chinese fort in 1734, and during the administration of the Republic of China, it was the capital city of Xing'an Province. It was a centre of agricultural production on the historical Chinese Eastern Railway. Once known as Hulun, Hailar today is a relatively small, but thriving modern industrial city, its population having soared from an estimated 20,000 in the mid-20th century.

After the Mukden Incident in 1931, Japan invaded China's north-eastern provinces and established the puppet state of Manchukuo. Hailar Fortress, a huge underground Japanese fortress, was completed in 1937 by forced Chinese laborers. The Kwantung Army garrisoned in Manchukuo built the fortress complex as one of biggest Japanese fortifications in Manchukuo. Some of the fiercest fighting of the Soviet–Japanese War in August 1945 took place around Hailar. Prisoners of war and civilians were massacred by the Kwantung Army in August 1945 during the final month of World War II. The World Anti-fascist War Hailar Memorial Park, a museum and war memorial, is built on the site of the Hailar Fortress, parts of the fortress tunnels are open for public viewing.

Transport Hulunbuir Hailar Airport serves the city, with flights to Beijing and Shenyang amongst others. Hailar's railway station is the penultimate major station before Manzhouli, the port city that stands close to the Russian border. It is on the famous Western line of the Trans-Siberian express route and China National Highway 301. Trains to Harbin take about 12 hours, and 27 to Beijing. Hailar has a frequent series of buses that cover the town.

Geography Hailar is located in close proximity to the Greater Xing'an Mountains, and has an elevation ranging from 603.0 to 776.6 m (1,978.3 to 2,547.9 ft). Of the city's 1,319.8 square kilometers, 28 square km (or 2.12%) of the district is urban.

Administrative divisions Hailar is divided into 7 subdistricts and 2 towns: Zhengyang Subdistrict 正阳街道 Zhèngyáng Jiēdào ᠵᠧᠩ ᠶᠠᠩ ᠵᠡᠭᠡᠯᠢ ᠭᠤᠳᠤᠮᠵᠢ Жен ян зээл гудамж; Jiankang Subdistrict 健康街道 Jiànkāng Jiēdào ᠵᠢᠶᠠᠨ ᠺᠠᠩ ᠵᠡᠭᠡᠯᠢ ᠭᠤᠳᠤᠮᠵᠢ Жаан кан зээл гудамж; Kaoshan Subdistrict 靠山街道 Kàoshān Jiēdào ᠺᠣᠤ ᠱᠠᠨ ᠵᠡᠭᠡᠯᠢ ᠭᠤᠳᠤᠮᠵᠢ Коо шин зээл гудамж; Shengli Subdistrict 胜利街道 Shènglì Jiēdào ᠱᠧᠩ ᠯᠢ ᠵᠡᠭᠡᠯᠢ ᠭᠤᠳᠤᠮᠵᠢ Шен ли зээл гудамж; Hulun Subdistrict 呼伦街道 Hūlún Jiēdào ᠬᠥᠯᠥᠨ ᠵᠡᠭᠡᠯᠢ ᠭᠤᠳᠤᠮᠵᠢ Гүүлэн зээл гудамж; Jianshe Subdistrict 建设街道 Jiànshè Jiēdào ᠵᠢᠶᠠᠨᠱᠧ ᠵᠡᠭᠡᠯᠢ ᠭᠤᠳᠤᠮᠵᠢ Жаанше зээл гудамж; Dongshan Subdistrict 东山街道 Dōngshān Jiēdào ᠵᠡᠭᠦᠨ ᠠᠭᠤᠯᠠ ᠳ᠋ᠠᠬᠢ ᠵᠡᠭᠡᠯᠢ ᠭᠤᠳᠤᠮᠵᠢ Зүүн уул даахь зээл гудамж; Towns: Hag Town 哈克镇 Hākè Zhèn ᠬᠠᠭ ᠪᠠᠯᠭᠠᠰᠤ Хаг балгас; Fendou Town 奋斗镇 Fèndòu Zhèn ᠹᠧᠨᠳ᠋ᠧᠦ ᠪᠠᠯᠭᠠᠰᠤ Фендуй балгас.

Culture Hailar is a multi-ethnic town, with notable Han, Mongolian, Hui, Daur, Evenki, Russian populations. As such, signs are usually bilingual and Mongolian influence pervades in songs played on shop CD players, domes on buildings and the everyday speech of some locals.

Composer Vladimir Ussachevsky was born in Hailar, as well as leading news anchor Bai Yansong; the folk metal band Nine Treasures also originated in Hailar.