Acheng

Acheng, Wade-Giles romanization A-ch’eng, former city, central Heilongjiang sheng (province), far northeastern China. In 2006 it was incorporated into the city of Harbin, and it became a southeastern district of that city.

It was originally named Ashihe, for the Ashi River that flows through the eastern part of the city. Acheng was founded as a county in 1909 and was established as a city in 1989, retaining that status until its amalgamation with Harbin in 2006. Hilly on its southeast side and leveling into the Sungari (Songhua) River plain to the northwest, Acheng is surrounded by fertile land and productive farming. Its chief produce include corn (maize), soybeans, wheat, rice, and such industrial crops as flax, sugar beets, and purple-skin garlic. It boasts a sugar refinery, a brewery, a steel-rolling mill, and electronic-relay and polyester-fibre plants. The Harbin-Suifenghe Railway and a network of highways provide easy transportation to Acheng district.

Some 3 miles (5 km) to the south of Acheng are the remains of an ancient walled city. This site is thought to be the remains of Huining, which was the capital of the early Jin (Juchen) dynasty from 1122 to 1153 and was a subsidiary capital after 1161.