Shuangyashan was established as a special mining district in 1954 and officially designated a city by the CPC Central Committee and State Council in 1956.

The city also produces steel, lumber, chemicals, building materials, textiles, electric machinery, and food products.

[6] More recently, the city has been feeling the effects of the coal downturn, with mining demand collapsing amidst a slowdown in China's economic growth.

The city is 80 km (50 mi) from Jiamusi Airport, which operates regular flights to Beijing, Dalian, Shanghai, Qingdao, Guangzhou, Sanya and Khabarovsk.

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