Hailar

Hailar, Wade-Giles romanization Hai-la-erh, formerly Hulun, city, northeastern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. It lies on the south bank of the Hailar River, at its junction with the Yimin River. Since 2001 Hailar has served as the urban district of the newly created Hulunbuir city.

The area was occupied by the Chinese in the 7th century ce under the early Tang dynasty (618–907), when it was part of the Heishui protectorate general. Chinese occupation, however, was short-lived and never very effective. During the period of Mongol domination in the 13th century, there was a walled settlement on the river’s north bank, traces of which survive. In late Ming times (16th–17th century) the area was occupied by the Solon (Tungus) and Daghor (Daur) peoples. After 1644, under the Qing dynasty (1644–1911/12), the Manchus gave a considerable degree of autonomy to the local Mongol tribes, who established Hailar as their seat. The city’s development was greatly stimulated in 1899 with the arrival of the Chinese Eastern Railway, built by the Russians under the Sino-Russian treaty of 1896. In 1901, during the Boxer Rebellion of Chinese against foreigners, Hailar was occupied by Russian forces. In 1905 it was opened as a river port for foreign commerce. The Chinese government abolished its autonomous status in 1910, renamed the city Hulun (designating it a county), and established a regular Chinese local administration.

In 1912, however, the local Mongol population, particularly the Bargut, began a series of rebellions, with Russian encouragement, that forced the Chinese to restore some measure of autonomy. After many Chinese had settled along the railway to the east of Hailar, the Chinese government again canceled (1919) the Bargut’s autonomy and incorporated the whole area into adjacent Heilongjiang province. Constant encroachment and exploitation by the Chinese settlers and merchants brought about a serious Mongol uprising in 1928. The rebellious Mongols established an autonomous region of Hulun Buir, the independence of which was recognized by the Japanese in Manchuria (Northeast China). Following the establishment (1931) in Manchuria of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo (Manzhouguo), the Mongolian border area was again organized into an autonomous region, Xing’an, with Hailar as the northern provincial capital. In 1947 it was incorporated into Inner Mongolia.

The city’s primary role has always been that of a market and commercial centre. In earlier times it was the terminus of caravan routes from central Mongolia and the site of great annual horse fairs. Now a railway city and the focus of an extensive road network, it stands between the areas colonized by Chinese settlers and the Mongolian border pasturelands. It trades in meat, hides, and dairy products. Plants manufacturing machines, chemicals, and paper have been established there. A large open-cut coal mine is located about 42 miles (70 km) south of the city, near the Yimin River. Hailar also has established a food-processing industry, using the rich farming and livestock products nearby. Pop. (2000) 253,576.