CHI-HSI

Pinyin Jixi, city in southeastern Heilungkiang Province (sheng), China. Located on the upper Mu-leng Ho (river), it is in a mountainous area rich in timber and in various minerals, including coal, iron, oil shale, graphite, fluorite, and limestone. Chi-hsi is, however, predominantly a coal-mining city, with some of the largest and best equipped coal mines in China. The coal is of high quality and is suitable for coking and for use in the chemical industry. Apart from a small amount used by the local power generating plant, most of the coal mined there is shipped to Harbin (Ha-erh-pin) and southern Manchuria (Northeast Provinces), or (via T'u-men in Kirin Province) to North Korea. Until the Sino-Soviet dispute of the 1960s, some was also exported to the eastern maritime provinces of the Soviet Union. Chi-hsi also has a large lumber industry, much of the timber being used in the local mines. There is also an engineering industry, established to serve the mines. Chi-hsi is linked by rail to the line from Chia-mu-ssu to Mu-tan-chiang (both in Heilungkiang Province) and is the centre of branch lines running north and south to the Korean border areas. Pop. (1983 est.) 793,000.