Before the Qing dynasty Hailun was one of the earliest centrally governed counties in
Heilongjiang Province. The city was named after the Hailun River, which runs through it. The name Hailun is a variation of a
Manchu word that sounds like "kailing", which means "otter". This name was chosen due to the abundance of
otters inhabiting the nearby river. The area around Hailun was initially ruled by the
Manchu people and was administrated from
Hulan City for much of the Manchu
Qing dynasty.
Qing dynasty By 1885 (the eleventh ruling year of the Emperor
Guangxu of the
Qing dynasty), Hailun was administrated by the prefecture-level city of
Suihua. In 1898, the Tongken Deputy Metropolitan Government was established, and the territory of Hailun County was placed under its jurisdiction. The Tongken Deputy Metropolitan Government was dissolved in 1906.
Republic of China In 1912,
Republic of China's first year in power, Hailun Prefecture was renamed to Hailun County. In 1932, following the Japanese annexation of
Manchuria, Hailun County was absorbed into the Japanese puppet state of
Manchukuo. On August 15, 1945, Manchukuo was liberated by the Soviet
Red Army, and the puppet state was disestablished. The region was then handed over to the
People’s Liberation Army under
Mao Zedong. Under the leadership of the
Chinese Communist Party, the People's Government was established in Manchuria in November 1945. Hailun County was under the direct jurisdiction of the CCP and the PLA until the founding of the
People's Republic of China in 1949.
People's Republic of China Since the founding of the
People's Republic of China in 1949, Hailun County has been under the jurisdiction of
Heilongjiang Province. On December 23, 1989, the State Council approved the renaming of Hailun County to Hailun City (county level).The name change did not affect the administrative jurisdiction under the city, and it was still governed through the Suihua District. On January 11, 1990, the area was officially renamed. ==Geography and climate==