Harbin, also Ha-erh-pin, city, northeastern China, capital of Heilongjiang Province, a port and rail junction on the Songhua River. A major commercial, industrial, and transportation center, it is situated in a productive farming region. Manufactures include electrical equipment, ball bearings, machinery, chemicals, processed food, and cement. The city, founded as a rail center in 1900 by Russian financiers, was known as Pinkiang while part of the former Japanese-controlled state of Manchukuo (1932-45). After 1949 it developed into a diversified industrial center. Population (1995 estimate) 4,470,000.