Qiqihar [key], city (1994 est. pop. 1,104,100), S central Heilongjiang prov., China, a port on the Nen River near the Da Hinggan Mts. It is connected by rail with Harbin, Shenyang (Mukden), and Dalian (Dairen) and is a processing center for soybeans, grain, and sugar beets. Manufactures include steel, locomotives, diesel engines, machine tools, wood and paper products, and cement. Qiqihar was founded in 1691 as a Chinese fortress and was formerly the capital of Hejiang and Heilongjiang provs. The name sometimes appears as Ch'i-ch'i-ha-erh.
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