Harbin is the
capital and largest city of
Heilongjiang province,
People's Republic of China. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, Harbin has direct jurisdiction over nine metropolitan districts, two county-level cities and seven counties. Harbin is the eighth most populous Chinese city and the most populous city in
Northeast China. According to the
2010 census, the built-up area made of seven out of nine urban districts (
all but Shuangcheng and Acheng not urbanized yet) had 5,282,093 inhabitants, while the total population of the
sub-provincial city was up to 10,635,971. Harbin serves as a key political, economic, scientific, cultural and communications hub in
Northeast China, as well as an important industrial base of the nation.