Traditionally, Hulunbuir was a part of Manchuria, and the eastern part of the area was known as Barga. From 1912-1949, during the Republic of China period, Hulunbuir was part of Xing'an and Heilongjiang provinces. After the 1949 Communist revolution in China, Hulunbuir was annexed into Inner Mongolia, but the region kept economic ties to the rest of Manchuria via the Chinese Eastern Railway. During the Cultural Revolution, the parts of historical Manchuria inside Inner Mongolia were briefly restored to their original provinces; Hulunbuir was given back to Heilongjiang from 1969 to 1979. Until October 10, 2001, Hulunbuir was administered as a League. The area is 263,953 km2 (101,913 sq mi). The jurisdiction area of the city is larger than many Chinese provinces (and 42 U.S. states), although the actual urban agglomeration is just a very small part of the region, and the average population density of the area is very low.   Hi Res Pic (129K)