Qiqihar (;
Manchu:
Cicigar ) is one of the 13 Larger Municipalities in China, and the second largest city in the
Heilongjiang province,
People's Republic of China. The built-up (
or metro) area made up of Longsha, Tiefeng and Jianhua districts had 979,517 inhabitants, while the total population of the prefecture-level city was 5,367,003 at the 2010 census. These are mainly
Han Chinese, though the city is also home to thirty-four minorities including
Manchu,
Daur, and
Mongolians. Close to Qiqihar are numerous wetlands and the
Zhalong Nature Reserve, famous in China for being home to numerous
red-crowned cranes.