Xunke County

Xunke County is a county under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Heihe, in northern Heilongjiang province, China, bordering Russia's Amur Oblast to the north across the Amur River. It is under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Heihe. The county spans an area of 17344 km2, and has a population of about 82,000.

Toponymy
Xunke County got its name from a portmanteau of two previously-existing counties in the area: Xunhe County and Qike County. Xunhe County derived its name from the nearby, which means "milk river" in Manchu. Qike derived its name from a nearby mountain called Qikele. The pronunciation of Qikele shifted to Qikete over time, and would commonly be shorted to Qike.

History
There have been human activities in Xunke County as early as the late Neolithic period.

During the time of the Jin dynasty, the area of present-day Xunke County was inhabited by the Jurchen people.

A number of refugees from the Sixty-Four Villages East of the River fleeing the 1900 Amur anti-Chinese pogroms resettled in present-day Xunke County.

After the 1911 Revolution, in 1913, the, which governed the area, was restructured as Aihui County. Qikete, corresponding to present-day Xunke County, was reclassified as the Fourth District of Aihui County. In 1915, Qikete was reclassified from a to a. In 1929, Qikete County Assistant was renamed and reorganized as Qike County.

In 1933, Imperial Japan invaded and occupied the area, and established their own county governments in the area. In 1943, Japan merged the two counties it established in the area, Xunhe County and Qike County, into Xunke County.

In June 1946, the established county offices. By 1947, the People's Liberation Army established full control of the area.

Administrative divisions
Xunke County is divided into three towns, six townships, and seven other township-level divisions.

The county's three towns are, , and.

The county's six townships are, , , , , and.

Xunke County also administers seven other township-level divisions: Daogan Tree Farm, Ganchazi Tree Farm , Xinli Tree Farm , Sanjianfang Tree Farm , Xunke County Seed Farm , Xunke County Breeding Farm , and.

Demographics
Xunke County has a population of about 82,000, per a 2023 government publication. The population of the county was 99,740 in 1999.

Ethnicity
Xunke County is predominantly Han Chinese, who comprise about 90% of the county population. The county has 22 ethnic minorities, including the Oroqen, Russians, and the Daur.

Per a 2023 government population, 1,257 Oroqen people live in Xunke County, accounting for approximately one-seventh of China's total Oroqen population. Within Xunke County, the Oroqen primarily live in and.

Approximately 1,200 ethnic Russians live in Xunke County. The county has five Russian ethnic villages. Approximately one-third of the county's ethnic Russians live in Bianjiang Village within the town of.