Harbin (simplified Chinese: 哈尔滨; traditional Chinese: 哈爾濱; pinyin: Hāěrbīn; Wade-Giles: Ha-erh-pin; Russian Харби́н Kharbin) is a sub-provincial city and the capital of the Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China. It lies on the southern bank of the Songhua River. Harbin is ranked as the tenth largest city in China, serving as a key political, economic, scientific, cultural and communications center of Northeastern China.