Hailar, China

History

Hailar was founded as a Chinese fort in 1734, and during the administration of the Republic of China, it was the capital city of Xing'an Province. It was a center of agricultural production on the historical Chinese Eastern Railway. Once known as Hulun, Hailar today is a relatively small, but thriving modern industrial city of around 300,000, its population has soared from an estimated 20,000 in the mid-20th century.

After the Mukden Incident in 1931, Japan invaded China's northeastern provinces and established the puppet state of Manchukuo. Hailar Fortress, a huge underground Japanese fortress, was completed in 1937 by forced Chinese laborers. The Kwantung Army garrisoned in Manchukuo built the fortress complex as one of the biggest Japanese fortifications in Manchukuo. Some of the fiercest fighting of the Soviet–Japanese War in August 1945 took place around Hailar. Prisoners of war and civilians were massacred by the Kwantung Army in August 1945 during the final month of World War II. The World Anti-fascist War Hailar Memorial Park, a museum and war memorial, is built on the site of the Hailar Fortress, parts of the fortress tunnels are open for public viewing.

From the History section of Hailar District on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.