Non

Non lay in the upper Nen River country of northeastern Asia. The river is also known by the Manchu name Non Ula. Forests and wetlands form part of the wider basin, where communities drew on fishing, hunting, gathering and other resources. Rivers offered routes in warmer months, while ice and snow changed the conditions of winter travel.

The upper Nen country formed part of a broader region inhabited by Indigenous and pastoral communities. During the medieval and early modern centuries, Jurchen, Mongol and Manchu powers shaped its political surroundings; under the Qing, Mergen became an administrative centre on the Nen.