Hulun

Hulun's Qing administrative centre developed beside the Yimin River, in the country later known through the name Hailar. Earlier imperial institutions had already reached this district: in 1433 a Haila'er thousand-household office and the Hanhan relay station were established within the area's present limits, under the Nurgan regional command.

A different frontier settlement took shape in the early 1730s. The Qing established a Hulunbuir commander in 1732 and transferred banner soldiers to guard the northern grasslands. The new centre on the Yimin's western bank was named Hulunbuir, joining the names of the Hulun and Buir lakes. Military organization connected several local and resettled peoples, including Daur and Oroqen soldiers, with Qing frontier administration. In 1820 the regional superintendent was recorded as stationed at Hulun Buyur, the same administrative centre. The town's development therefore followed the establishment of a fixed military headquarters within a much larger pastoral landscape.