Mohe City

Mohe
漠河市
Mohe City skyline (2019)
Mohe City skyline (2019)
Location of Mohe City jurisdiction (pink) in Daxing'anling Prefecture (yellow) and Heilongjiang
Location of Mohe City jurisdiction (pink) in Daxing'anling Prefecture (yellow) and Heilongjiang
Mohe is located in Heilongjiang
Mohe
Mohe
Location of the city center in Heilongjiang
Mohe is located in China
Mohe
Mohe
Mohe (China)
Coordinates: 52°58′19″N 122°32′20″E / 52.972°N 122.539°E / 52.972; 122.539
CountryChina
ProvinceHeilongjiang
PrefectureDaxing'anling
Municipal seatXilinji
Area
 • Total18,233 km2 (7,040 sq mi)
Elevation
435 m (1,427 ft)
Population
 (2020 census)[1]
 • Total54,036
 • Density3.0/km2 (7.7/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code
165300
Websitewww.mohe.gov.cn
Mohe City
Chinese漠河
Literal meaning"Desert River"

Mohe (Chinese: 漠河; pinyin: Mòhé) is a county-level city in Daxing'anling Prefecture, Heilongjiang province. It is the northernmost city in China.

Administrative divisions[edit]

Mohe City is divided into 6 towns:[2]

Geography[edit]

Night in Beiji Village

Mohe is located in the far northwest of Heilongjiang at latitude 52° 10'−53° 33' N and 121° 07'−124° 20' E. It forms a border with Russia's Amur Oblast and Zabaykalsky Krai, where the Amur River flows for 245 kilometres (152 mi). A village, the northernmost Chinese settlement, at the latitude of 53° 29' N and known as the Beiji Village (北极村, literally "North Pole Village" or "Northernmost Village"), lies in this city, on the Amur River.

On extremely rare occasions, the aurora borealis can be seen.[3]

Mohe spans 150 kilometres (93 mi) from north to south and has a total area of 18,233 square kilometres (7,040 sq mi), occupying 21.6% of the prefecture's (Daxing'anling) area and 3.9% of the provincial (Heilongjiang) area. This creates a population density of only 4.64 persons/km2 (12.0 persons/sqmi).

Maps[edit]

Dzhalinda (1951)
Map including part of Mohe (AMS, 1951)

Climate[edit]

Mohe, by virtue of its far northern location and proximity to Siberia, is one of the few locations in China with a subarctic climate (Köppen Dwc),[4] closely bordering on extreme humid continental, with long, dry, severe winters, and short, warm, wet summers.[5] Winter begins in early to mid-October and lasts until late April or early May, and temperatures then are normally the coldest nationwide. Average temperatures stay below freezing for a total of nearly seven months of the year, and the frost-free period is just short of 90 days; in addition, the diurnal temperature variation is large, averaging 17.2 °C (31.0 °F) annually. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −28.2 °C (−18.8 °F) in January to 18.3 °C (64.9 °F) in July, with an annual mean of −3.90 °C (25.0 °F), so that the city is only a little south of the line of continuous permafrost. Extreme temperatures have ranged from −53.0 °C (−63.4 °F)[6][7][8] to 39.3 °C (102.7 °F).[9] The record low temperature of −53.0 °C (−63.4 °F), registered on 22 January 2023, was also the lowest temperature recorded in China.[10] December and January have never recorded an above-freezing temperature, and all 12 months have had sub-freezing temperatures at some point.

Climate data for Mohe (1997–2020 normals, extremes 1971–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) −4.6
(23.7)
5.5
(41.9)
16.2
(61.2)
28.4
(83.1)
35.1
(95.2)
39.3
(102.7)
38.0
(100.4)
35.5
(95.9)
31.7
(89.1)
25.1
(77.2)
10.2
(50.4)
−3.2
(26.2)
39.3
(102.7)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −18
(0)
−11.1
(12.0)
−1.9
(28.6)
8.7
(47.7)
17.7
(63.9)
24.7
(76.5)
26.3
(79.3)
23.6
(74.5)
17.1
(62.8)
5.5
(41.9)
−8.7
(16.3)
−18.7
(−1.7)
5.4
(41.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) −27.9
(−18.2)
−23.3
(−9.9)
−12.2
(10.0)
0.8
(33.4)
9.3
(48.7)
15.9
(60.6)
18.6
(65.5)
15.4
(59.7)
7.9
(46.2)
−2.6
(27.3)
−17.4
(0.7)
−27.1
(−16.8)
−3.6
(25.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −34.9
(−30.8)
−32.3
(−26.1)
−22.0
(−7.6)
−7.6
(18.3)
0.2
(32.4)
6.4
(43.5)
11.1
(52.0)
8.5
(47.3)
0.5
(32.9)
−9.4
(15.1)
−24.2
(−11.6)
−33.3
(−27.9)
−11.4
(11.5)
Record low °C (°F) −53.0
(−63.4)
−52.3
(−62.1)
−42.7
(−44.9)
−32.6
(−26.7)
−13.1
(8.4)
−5.3
(22.5)
−1.4
(29.5)
−4.4
(24.1)
−12.2
(10.0)
−28.7
(−19.7)
−41.9
(−43.4)
−50.9
(−59.6)
−53.0
(−63.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 6.7
(0.26)
4.4
(0.17)
6.2
(0.24)
18.4
(0.72)
44.4
(1.75)
60.1
(2.37)
117.0
(4.61)
99.4
(3.91)
52.3
(2.06)
27.7
(1.09)
13.1
(0.52)
8.1
(0.32)
457.8
(18.02)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 8.1 6.2 5.2 7.0 11.5 13.3 16.5 14.8 11.8 9.9 9.9 9.7 123.9
Average snowy days 9.4 8.1 6.5 7.2 1.0 0.2 0 0.1 1.3 9.1 11.7 11.4 66
Average relative humidity (%) 68 65 61 54 57 70 78 81 75 69 72 70 68
Mean monthly sunshine hours 144.2 189.4 255.6 248.4 241.4 268.0 225.3 222.0 200.9 173.9 150.8 125.1 2,445
Percent possible sunshine 56 67 69 59 49 53 45 49 54 54 59 53 56
Source 1: China Meteorological Administration[11][12]
Source 2: Weather China[13][10]

Transportation[edit]

Mohe Railway Station

Mohe railway station, opened in 1972, is the northernmost railway station in China. It has regular passenger service to Harbin, Qiqihar, and Shenyang.[14]

Mohe Gulian Airport, opened in 2008, is the nation's northernmost airport and the first Chinese airport built on permafrost.[15]

Notable people[edit]

In popular culture[edit]

See also[edit]

Sources[edit]

  1. ^ "2020年大兴安岭地区第七次全国人口普查主要数据公报" (in Chinese). Government of Daxing'anling Prefecture. 2021-05-31.
  2. ^ "National Bureau of Statistics". www.stats.gov.cn. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  3. ^ "A Visit to China's "Arctic Village"". ChinaCulture.org. January 7, 2013.
  4. ^ "The 6 climate zones of China". ClimateList. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  5. ^ Krishna, K. R. (2015-01-28). Agricultural Prairies: Natural Resources and Crop Productivity. CRC Press. ISBN 9781482258066.
  6. ^ "Climate". en.chinaculture.org. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  7. ^ "China just saw its coldest temperature on record: Minus-63 degrees". The Washington Post. 23 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  8. ^ "China's northernmost city just saw its coldest day ever". CNN Travel. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Extreme Temperatures Around the World".
  10. ^ a b "China records its lowest-ever temperature in northernmost city of Mohe". South China Morning Post. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  11. ^ 1991-2020 normals "Climate averages from 1991 to 2020". China Meteorological Administration. Archived from the original on 2023-04-17.
  12. ^ 1981-2010 extremes 中国气象数据网 – WeatherBk Data (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  13. ^ 漠河城市介绍以及气候背景分析. Weather China (in Chinese). 中国气象局公共气象服务中心. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  14. ^ "漠河列车时刻表 漠河火车时刻表 www.ip138.com". qq.ip138.com.
  15. ^ "中国最北极机场漠河机场正式通航--旅游--人民网". Archived from the original on 2012-06-08.

External links[edit]