Long read：How to Stop Northeast China’s Population From Shrinking

The total population of the three northeastern provinces has fallen by more than 11 million over the past decade. To reverse the decline, the region needs to reinvent its cities

With the release of Heilongjiang’s 2024 Statistical Communique on National Economic and Social Development, the province became the last part of Northeast China to report that its population shrank last year.

According to a sample survey on population change, Heilongjiang’s total resident population at the end of 2024 fell to 30.29 million, down by 330,000 people from the previous year.

Of the 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions that