[3] Its population was 2,781,562 as of the 2020 census, of whom 1,574,389 lived in the built-up (or metro) area in four out of the total of five urban districts: Sartu, Longfeng, Ranghulu and Honggang.

The region now known as Daqing Prefecture was a reasonably insignificant place until the Qing dynasty, known only as an unsettled hunting ground of Dörbet Oirat tribes due to its wetland and prairies.

The region began to grow slightly after the Russian Empire constructed the Chinese Eastern Railway (KVZhD) through the area in 1898.

The successful construction of the Daqing oil field despite harsh weather conditions and supply limitations became a model held up by the Party as an example during subsequent industrialization campaigns.

[2]: 159  In March of that year, the People's Liberation Army was called to Daqing to maintain order so that oil production could proceed.

[2]: 159–160  The oil field continued to be a major driver of economic growth during the chaotic Cultural Revolution period.

[2]: 200  Its first master plan set a goal of growing Daqing into "a new industrial city" through a development strategy of "relative dispersion with several modest concentrations.

Located in the north temperate zone, Daqing has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dwa) and is affected by the Siberian high and the East Asian monsoon.

Primary industries output (including agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and the fisheries) increased by 13.5% to RMB13.29 billion.

Over 160 varieties of paraffin wax, ethylene, tar oil and benzene are exported to more than 10 nations and regions including the US, the UK, Thailand and Hong Kong.

Daqing's main exports include six categories of petrochemical products, construction materials, processed foodstuffs, office furniture and mechanical and electronic equipment.

[13] The local finance sector plays an important role in building up Daqing's Century Oilfield and in developing new industries.

[16] There are flights to several large cities including Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Qingdao and Shanghai.

In order to illuminate the entrepreneurial history of Daqing and its people, several films were made by companies in China.

[17] In 1964, chief director of the Central Experimental Theater Sun Weishi and her husband, the actor Jin Shan, traveled to Daqing to live and work with the oil workers and their families.

[2]: 141  The next year, the Communist Party journal Red Flag published an article by Sun which praised the Daqing people.

2 Formally part of Oroqen Banner in Inner Mongolia but administered de facto by Daxing'anling Prefecture in Heilongjiang.