The built-up (or metro) area made up of Longsha, Tiefeng and Jianhua districts had 959,787 inhabitants, while the total population of the prefecture-level city was shrinking to 4,067,489 as of the 2020 census (5,367,003 as of 2010).

[1] These are mainly Han Chinese, though the city is also home to thirty-four minorities including Manchus, Daur, and Mongols.

[3] Qing China had initially intended to keep the far-northern Heilongjiang province as a semi-pastoral area, separate from the wider Chinese agricultural economy, so it did not allow seasonal urban migrants, such as those from Hebei and Shandong who wished to participate in the Qiqihar fur trade, to own farms or develop the land.

After the Russian Empire seized Outer Manchuria according to the Treaty of Aigun and the Convention of Peking, the Qing decided to lift the various restrictions on settlement that it placed on Northeast China and on Heilongjiang residency in particular, in 1868, 1878, and 1904.

It enlisted Han Chinese to help to teach the local Solon people farming techniques, provide materials and tax exemptions to convert them from hunting.

A network of lines radiating from Qiqihar was extended into the northwestern part of Heilongjiang Province including Jiagedaqi and Manzhouli in the late 1920s.

General Ma Zhanshan was ordered to act as Governor and Military Commander-in-chief of Heilongjiang Province on 10 October.

[8] Liaoning fell in December, and Harbin in February; the puppet Manchukuo government of the Japanese-occupied territory under General Zhang Jinghui established Qiqihar as its administrative center and of Longjiang province.

[9] A major mustard gas tank left over from the Second Sino-Japanese War buried underground was accidentally damaged in August 2003, causing 43 injuries and one death.

[10] After the defeat of Japan, the Democratic Regime Qiqihar Municipal Government was established, under the administration of Nenjiang Province.

Qiqihar is located along the middle and lower reaches of the Nen River and the hinterland of Songnen Plain, which is adjacent to the Greater Khingan Range and Hulunbuir Prairie.

[16] Qiqihar is divided into 16 divisions: 7 districts (区; qū), 8 counties (县; xiàn) and 1 county-level city (县级市; xiànjí shì).

Companies conducting business in Qiqihar include RT-Mart, Walmart, GOME Electrical Appliances, and Suning Commerce Group.

The Harbin–Qiqihar intercity railway opened on 17 August 2015;[23][24] it provides frequent high-speed service to Harbin, as well as some direct trains to Beijing.

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

5The claimed province of Taiwan no longer have any internal division announced by Ministry of Civil Affairs of PRC, due to lack of actual jurisdiction.