HO-KANG

also called Hao-li, Pinyin Hegang or Haoli, city, Heilungkiang Province (sheng), China. It is a prefecture-level municipality (shih). Hao-li (Ho-kang) is situated in the southeastern section of the Lesser Khingan Range. It is one of the principal coal-producing cities in China. The Ho-kang mines were founded in 1916 by a Chinese entrepreneur with Russian capital. In 1926 a railway was built to Chia-mu-ssu some 30 mi (50 km) to the south on the Sungari River. The mines were further developed after the Japanese occupation of Manchuria (now the Northeast) in 193132. After 1949 the city experienced further rapid growth. The mines were extended and modernized. Most of the coal is high-quality coking coal; apart from a small quantity consumed in Chia-mu-ssu, most of it is shipped by rail to An-yang in Honan Province and to other industrial cities in southern Manchuria. By the late 1950s the coal industry employed more than 80 percent of the working population. By the early 1970s, although the mines had been further developed and output increased, some other industrial development had occurred, and a large thermal power installation had been completed. Pop. (1989 est.) 500,400.