Situated in the northwest of Heilongjiang Province, and standing opposite to the capital of Amoul state in Russia across the river, Heihe City used to be called Anbasahalian in Manchu language, or Daheihe Village in Chinese. Anba in Manchu language corresponds to big in Chinese, and Sahalian to black. The city is so named because the Heilongjiang River is somewhat black.

The city is flourishing with foreign trade, and is an international trade port for China to do business with Russia, or other countries in East Europe.