Sports Blog

Historically as one of the main gateways from China to Russia and Europe, Heilongjiang province brings the wonderful scenery of northeast China. It has more than 460,000 square kilometers land area, accounting for 4.7% of the nation’s total. Under its jurisdiction are 13 prefectures, 66 cities, 1,211 towns and 14,488 villages. It borders the provinces of Inner Mongolia to the west, Jilin to the south and Russia on the northeast. This province derived its name from the river, Black Dragon River, which flows along the border China to Russia.

The Han Chinese contains the majority of Heilongjiang’s population. Other ethnic minorities include the Manchus, Koreans, Mongols, Hui, Daur, Xibe, Oroqin, Hezhen and Russians. There are about 35 ethical groups living in Heilongjiang with a population of over 36.8 million. Among them the most characteristic ethical groups are Hezhe fishermen, Ewenki Hunters and Daur ethnical group, raising mainly cattles. Their life styles are very different from each others.

The province is dominated by mountain ranges like the Greater Khingan Range and Lesser Khingan Range, Zhangguangcai Mountains, Laoye Mountains, and Wanda Mountains. The Greater Khingan Range contains China’s largest remaining virgin forest and is an important area for China’s forestry industry. It is also known for its source of lumber for China , the Korean pine and larch are the most important forms of lumber produced in Heilongjiang. The Daxingan Mountains and Xiaoxingan Mountains are the home for protected animal species such as the Siberian Tiger, the red-crowned crane, and the lynx.

Crops such as soybeans, maize, and wheat are grown on the agricultural land, and it is heavily defined by its cold climate. There are also commercial crops that grown which includes beets, flax, and sunflowers. Heilongjiang Province not only has rich soil resources with large quantity of cultivated land which takes the first place in China, but also has rich water resource with good quality for agriculture, industry and the use of living. It has also the greatest number of milk cows and the highest production of milk among all the province-level divisions of China.

The petroleum resource in Heilongjiang has been proved its reserve, which is the first place in China. The Daqing Oil Field is not only the biggest one in China, but also is one of the few biggest oil fields in the world. As the one of the ten largest bases of coalfield, its amount of reserves, output and export are all play important roles in China. Heilongjiang is also rich in some of other mineral resources such as gold, lead, coal and graphite. It also has great potential for wind power, with an average wind energy density of 200 watts per square meter.

Summers are short, cool and comfortable with an average of 18 to 23°C in July. And concentrated in summer, the annual average rainfall is 500 to 600 mm. In winter, you will experience harsh and extreme cold. Winter in Heilongjiang is long, cold and dry. With an average of -31 to -15°C, winters are long and frigid in January.

A distinctive geological land form and peculiar climate combine to turn Heilongjiang into a fabulous tourist destination. The natural volcano garden of the world, Wu Dan Lian Chi, can witness the volcanoes’ ravage. The largest mountain lake in China, Jing Po Lake, has a particular and wonderful Diao Shui Lou waterfall. See aurora borealis in the arctic pole village Mohe. Visit the snow resort too. For some visitors it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see snow.

Enjoy the national Ski Festival and Ice Festival held every year, and also the culture in the famous music town Harbin. The national Ski Festival is a wonderful program for those who like skiing; and the national Ice Festival displays the exquisite art of ice carvings and its elegant masterpieces. Both festivals are held annually from December to January. Harbin, famous for its name ‘Ice City’, is the administrative center of the Heilongjiang Province. During the famous Summer Concerts in Harbin you will hear the most beautiful music in the world, especially the Chinese classical music. All this is pleasing to all both your eyes and ears.

According to league sources, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has determined that the New England Patriots violated league rules when it videotaped defensive signals by New York Jets coaches during the Patriots’ 38-14 win Sunday. There will be a hearing with the Patriots — mostly likely by phone by the end of the week — and then a ruling by the commissioner that could cost New England draft picks.

Well, whatever the decision will be. It is still the Patriots who are supposed to win this season.

No matter the sport, no matter the level, there’s been a constant throughout Miami quarterback Kyle Wright’s athletic career.

After leading Miami on its lone TD drive against Oklahoma, Kyle Wright will get the starting nod at QB against Florida International on Saturday.

Until this season, he’d never been a backup. “I’ve never had to deal with that in any sport since I was 6 years old, sitting on the sidelines and watching,” Wright said. “Definitely a different feeling.”

That feeling is gone. After being the second-stringer for Miami’s first two games, Wright is again the Hurricanes’ starting quarterback, passing Kirby Freeman on the depth chart for Saturday’s game between Miami (1-1) and Florida International (0-2) at the Orange Bowl.

If Miami coach Randy Shannon gets his way, this will end what he calls a “round-robin deal” at the position

Nathalie Dechy and Dinara Safina won the U.S. Open women’s doubles title in their first tournament together, beating Chan Yung-Jan and Chuang Chia-Jung of Taiwan 6-4, 6-2 in Sunday’s final.

Dechy also won last year’s doubles championship at Flushing Meadows, but with Vera Zvonareva as her partner — and Safina was the runner-up, pairing with Katarina Srebotnik.

They have not yet talked about playing together in the future but Safina said she hoped they would play together again in the future.

Oakland Raiders reached a contact agreement in principle on Monday night with JaMarcus Russell, the former LSU quarterback who was the first overall selection in the 2007 draft.

The two sides met in person Monday for the third time in four days and were hashing out final details of the contract, according to a person familiar with the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity. The final contract needs to be approved by the NFL.

Justine Henin of Belgium wins second US Open title by defeating Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-3

 Henin also earned the distinction of becoming the only player to have beaten both Venus and Serena Williams in the same Grand Slam event and gone on to win the title. 

It was her second big win of the year after the French Open in June and the seventh Grand Slam title of her career. She now ranks second among active women with seven careers Grand Slam

It seems that Michigan is entering to their worst football season ever. The upset they suffered a week ago is insurmountable in terms of recovering. The confidence of the players are too low.

Lloyd Carr must have imagined last week was the nightmare of his coaching career. Losing to a I-AA team made Michigan the nation’s laughingstock and opened them up to intense criticism.

But there was an undercurrent that Michigan was close, losing by only two points, and that Appalachian State was much better than the general public imagined.

There were no such allusions on Saturday as Murphy’s Law dropped an anvil on the Wolverines in the 39-7 loss to Oregon at Michigan Stadium. It started when quarterback Chad Henne threw an end-zone interception into multiple coverage to end the first drive.

And it probably will never end.

Justine Henin beat Venus Williams yesterday 7-6 (2), 6-4 at the U.S. Open.

She eliminated Serena in the quarterfinals and only other player who defeated both Venus and Serena at a single major tournament was Martina Hingis at the 2001 Australian Open.

On Saturday night, Henin will try for her seventh Slam title when she takes on No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova.

As it is expected, Phil Jackson, may favorite coach of all time  was inducteed to the Hall of Fame.

Phil Jackson learned to coach from Red Holzman, and he practiced the craft on superstars like Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.

“Who could have been more fortunate than I am, to have stumbled into this success?” Jackson said Friday night in his induction speech at the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Jackson won nine NBA championships as a coach — tying Red Auerbach for the record — and one more as a player. But it was with the New York Knicks in their championship season of 1969-70, when Jackson was recovering from spinal fusion surgery, that he found his future calling.

Soaking up knowledge from his Hall of Fame mentor, Jackson developed the approach that allowed him to integrate lesser talents into a team with stars like Jordan and O’Neal.

Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi of Belarus won the U.S. Open mixed doubles championship. They beat Meghann Shaughnessy of the United States and Leander Paes of India 6-4, 7-6 (6). 

Paes and Shaughnessy held five set points in the second set but Mirnyi and Azarenka wins the tiebreak 8-6.  

It’s the first Grand Slam title won together by Azarenka and Mirnyi. They are going to split $150,000 for the win.