Daqing

Daqing, in western Heilongjiang, is China's oil capital, built almost from nothing after the discovery of the country's largest oil field here in 1959. The field transformed China's energy self-sufficiency, and the model worker Wang Jinxi, the 'Iron Man' who threw himself into a well to mix cement, became a national symbol of hard work, honored at a striking memorial hall. The city is spread widely across the plain among oil pumps, lakes and wetlands, including the Longfeng reserve that shelters migrating cranes. Beyond petroleum, Daqing has developed petrochemicals, a large freshwater-fish and hot-spring tourism sector around Lianhuan Lake, and new-energy industries. High-speed rail on the Harbin-Qiqihar line and its own airport serve the city.