Ning'an

Ning'an (Chinese: 宁安; pinyin: Níng'ān; Manchu: ᠨᡳᠩᡤᡠᡨᠠ, romanized: Ningguta) is a city located approximately 20 km (12 mi) southwest of Mudanjiang, in the southeast of Heilongjiang province, China, bordering Jilin province to the south. It is located on the Mudanjiang River (formerly known as Hurka River), which flows north, eventually falling into the Sungari River near Sanxing. Administratively, Ning'an is now a county-level city, and a constituent part of the prefecture-level city of Mudanjiang. The land area of the entire county-level city of Ning'an is 7,870 km2 (3,040 sq mi); the reported population count, as of 2004, stood at 440,000. The government of the "county-level city" is located in the town of the same name (宁安镇; Níng'ān zhèn). Notable geographic features of the county-level city of Ning'an include Lake Jingpo and a crater underground forest (火山口地下森林). Lake Jingpo is a natural reservoir on the Mudanjiang River upstream (about 40 km or 25 mi southwest, straight-line distance) from Ning'an central urban area, result of the volcanic eruptions about 10,000 years ago.