Yichun

Sister cities

• Bad Wildungen

History

Yichun was named after the Yichun River (), which is a small tributary of Tangwang River (). The word Yichun means "nine" in Mongolian language. During the Shang dynasty Yichun was populated by the Sushen (). Before the Tang dynasty, the region was inhabited by several nomad tribes in the northeastern border area of China including Sushen and Donghu. During the Qing dynasty, Yichun was under the administration of Qiqihar and Hulan's Deputy Lieutenant-General (Fudutong) before it became a minor town under Tangyuan County's jurisdiction in the 1890s. The region's real development began after the establishment of Manchukuo after Japanese force seized Manchuria in 1932. In November 1941, a railway from Suihua to Jiamusi was built before its branch was extended to today's Yichun district from Nancha in July 1942. In 1945, Yichun was established as Yichunjie (Yichun Street) under Tangyuan County's control. As a major center of lumber industry, Yichun has grown at an astonishing rate since 1949. In 1952 Yichun County was established by the PRC Government. On 13 Feb 1958 Yichun was designated a Prefecture-level city. However, in order to set up a pilot of the combination of enterprise management and government, The CPC Central Committee and State Council approved to establish Yichun Special District () instead of Yichun City in 1964. In 1979 the City of Yichun was reinstated. Jiayin and Tieli were put into Yichun's jurisdiction.

Geography

Yichun is located in the northeast part of Heilongjiang with a border length of , part of which faces Russia across the Amur River. The Lesser Khingan Mountains cross the city. The total administrative area is . The channels and valleys are densely covered with trees and grasslands. There are 702 rivers, all of which are in the Amur and Songhua River drainage basins; the total water pondage is . The Tangwanghe River is the main river. Yichun has a monsoon-influenced, hemiboreal climate (Köppen Dwb), with long, bitterly cold, but very dry winters, and very warm, humid summers. With an annual mean temperature of , it is among the coldest Chinese cities, and diurnal temperature variation tends to be large, especially in winter and spring. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from in January to . During the warmer months, rainfall is somewhat enhanced by the mountainous topography, allowing for a generous annual precipitation total of . However, the monsoon still means that more than 60% of the annual precipitation falls from June to August alone.

Most-observed species

• Little Egret/Western Reef-Heron

  Egretta garzetta (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3
• Cechetra minor (Butler, 1875)

  Cechetra minor (Butler, 1875) · Insecta
  1
• Cicindela aurulenta Fabricius, 1801

  Cicindela aurulenta Fabricius, 1801 · Insecta
  1
• Denny's Flying Frog

  Zhangixalus dennysi (Blanford, 1881) · Amphibia
  1
• Saliocleta retrofusca (de Joannis, 1907)

  Saliocleta retrofusca (de Joannis, 1907) · Insecta
  1
• Neodrymonia rufa (Yang, 1995)

  Neodrymonia rufa (Yang, 1995) · Insecta
  1
• Theretra japonica Boisduval, 1869

  Theretra japonica Boisduval, 1869 · Insecta
  1
• Yepcalphis dilectissima (Walker, 1858)

  Yepcalphis dilectissima (Walker, 1858) · Insecta
  1