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March 8, 2014
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
Henan

Wikipedia

 
Not to be confused with the unrelated provinces of Hainan and Hunan
<font size="+1">河南省<br>H?n?n Shěng</font>
<font size="-1">Abbreviation: 豫 (pinyin: Y?)</font>
Image:China-Henan.png|Henan is highlighted on this map
Origin of Name 河 h? - Yellow River|(Yellow) River <br>南 n?n - south <br>"south of the Yellow River"
Administration Type Province of China|Province
Capital and<br>Largest City Zhengzhou
Communist Party of China|CPC Henan Committee Secretary Xu Guangchun
Governor Li Chengyu
Area 167,000 square kilometre|km&sup2; (List of China administrative regions by area|17th)
Population (2002) <br />&nbsp;- Density 96,130,000 (List of China administrative regions by population|1st) <br /> 576/km&sup2; (List of China administrative regions by population density|6th)
Gross domestic product|GDP (2002)<br />&nbsp;- per capita 616.9 billion Renminbi|? (List of China administrative regions by gross domestic product|5th) <br /> 6417 Renminbi|? (List of China administrative regions by GDP per capita|19th)
Major Nationalities of China|Nationalities (2000) Han Chinese|Han - 98.8%<br />Hui - 1%
Political divisions of China#Prefecture level|Prefecture-level divisions 17
Political divisions of China#County level|County-level divisions 159
Political divisions of China#Township level|Township-level divisions 2440
ISO 3166-2 CN-41

Henan (zh-cpw |c=河南 |p=H?n?n |w=Ho-nan), is a political divisions of China|province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-Chinese character|character abbreviation is 豫 (pinyin: y?), named after Yuzhou Province (豫州 Y? Zhōu), a Han Dynasty province (zhou (political division)|zhou) that included parts of Henan. The name Henan means "south of Huang He|the (Yellow) River" (Huang He).

With nearly 100 million people, Henan is the most populous province of China. It borders Hebei to the north, Shandong to the northeast, Anhui to the southeast, Hubei to the south, Shaanxi to the west, and Shanxi to the northwest.

Henan is often called Zhongyuan (中原 zhōngyu?n) or Zhongzhou (中州 zhōngzhōu), literally "central plains" or "midland"; this name is also broadly applied to the entire North China Plain. Henan is traditionally regarded as the source of Chinese civilization.




Northern Henan, along the Yellow River, was the core area of ancient China for at least the first half of Chinese history. The two cities of Luoyang and Kaifeng served as the capital cities of a long list of dynasties.

Archaeological sites reveal that prehistoric cultures such as the Yangshao Culture and Longshan Culture were active in what is now northern Henan. The Erlitou Culture, which has been controversially identified with the Xia Dynasty, the first Chinese dynasty as described in Chinese records, was also centered in Henan.

The first literate dynasty of China, the Shang Dynasty (16th century BC - 11th century BC), was centered in Henan. Their last capital, Yin, was located the modern city of Anyang, Henan.

In the 11th century BC the Zhou Dynasty arrived from the west and destroyed the Shang Dynasty. Their capital was located initially in Hao, to the west in what is now Shaanxi province. In 722 BC it was moved to Luoyang, Henan. This began the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, a period of warfare and rivalry. What is now Henan was divided into a variety of small states, including state of Chen|Chen, state of Cai|Cai, state of Cao|Cao, state of Zheng|Zheng, state of Wei I|Wei (衛), and powerful state of Jin|Jin from Shanxi to the north. Later on these were replaced with state of Han|Han and state of Wei II|Wei (魏). Throughout this period the state of Chu also held much of what is now southern Henan.

In 221 BC the state of Qin from what is now Shaanxi completed the unification of China, establishing the first unified Chinese state, the Qin Dynasty. They were followed by the Han Dynasty in 206 BC, which initially put its capital in Chang'an (now Xi'an, Shaanxi). The second half of this dynasty (the Eastern Han Dynasty) moved its capital to Luoyang (now Luoyang, Henan).

The late Eastern Han Dynasty saw war and rivalry between regional warlords. Henan was the power base of Cao Cao, who was based in Xuchang and eventually succeeded in unifying all of northern China under the Kingdom of Wei. Wei then put its capital in Luoyang. The Western Jin Dynasty (265-420)|Jin Dynasty that followed also put its capital at Luoyang.

In the 4th century nomadic peoples from the north invaded northern China. Henan then came under the rule of many successive regimes, including the Later Zhao, the Former Yan, the Former Qin, the Later Yan, and the Later Qin. The Northern Wei Dynasty, which unified North China in 439, moved its capital to Luoyang in 493.

Northern Wei splintered in 534 and would not be restored until 589, when the Sui Dynasty reunified China. Sui put its capital in Luoyang. The Tang Dynasty that followed moved the capital to Chang'an (modern Xi'an, Shaanxi). The Tang lasted for three centuries, but eventually succumbed to internal strife.

In the Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms that followed, Kaifeng was the capital of four dynasties: Later Liang Dynasty, Later Jin Dynasty, Later Han Dynasty, and Later Zhou Dynasty. The Song Dynasty that reunified China in 982 also had its capital at Kaifeng. Under Song rule, China entered a golden age of culture and prosperity, and Kaifeng was the largest city in the world http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa011201a.htm. In 1127, however, the Song Dynasty succumbed to Jurchen (Jinn Dynasty|Jin Dynasty) invaders from the north, and in 1142 had to cede away all of northern China, including Henan. By this point, cultural and economic development in the Yangtze River delta region (modern southern Jiangsu, northern Zhejiang, and Shanghai) had made that area into the new economic and cultural center of China, instead of Henan. Henan would forever lose this pre-eminent position.

The Jurchens kept their capital further north, at least until 1214, when they were forced to move the imperial court southwards to Kaifeng in order to flee the Mongol onslaught. In 1234 they succumbed to combined Mongol and Song Dynasty forces. Mongols took control, and in 1279 they conquered all of China.

Mongol rule over China ended in 1368. The Ming Dynasty that followed set up the equivalent of modern Henan province, with borders extremely similar to modern ones. The capital was, however, at Kaifeng instead of modern Zhengzhou. The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) did not make any significant changes to this arrangement; nor did the Republic of China in their rule over Mainland China (1911-1949).

The completion of the Pinghan Railway (Beiping (Beijing) - Hankou) made Zhengzhou, a previously unnoted county town, into a major transportation hub. In 1954 the new People's Republic of China government moved the capital of Henan from Kaifeng to Zhengzhou. The PRC also established a short-lived Pingyuan Province consisting of what is now northern Henan and western Shandong, with capital Xinxiang. This province was abolished in 1952.

In 1958, Yashan in Suiping County, Henan became the first people's commune of China, heralding the beginning of the Great Leap Forward. In the subsequent famines of the early 1960s popularly attributed to the Great Leap Forward, Henan suffered terribly, with up to several million dead. http://www.boxun.com/hero/dangshi/21_1.shtml

The collapse of the Banqiao Dam and other dams in 1975 in southern Henan, following extraordinarily high levels of rainfall caused by a typhoon, is estimated to have killed 230,000 people across several counties. This was the most deadly dam-related catastrophe in human history.

In recent years the prevalence of "blood selling" (blood donation with pay) among poor villagers has put Henan in the spotlight of the nation, after it was exposed that AIDS villages, where most of the population is HIV positive, have resulted due to poor sterilization techniques. The initial coverup of the crisis by local officials, followed by national exposure, has put Henan in a somewhat negative light.




Henan is flat in the east and mountainous in the west and extreme south. The eastern and central parts of Henan form part of the North China Plain. To the northwest the Taihang Mountains intrude partially into Henan's borders; to the west the Qinling Mountains enter Henan from the west and end about halfway across Henan, with branches (such as the Funiu Mountains) extending northwards and southwards. To the far south, the Dabie Mountains separate Henan from neighbouring Hubei province.

The Yellow River passes through northern Henan. It enters from the northwest, via the Sanmenxia Reservoir. After it passes Luoyang, the Yellow River is raised upwards via natural sedimentation and artificial construction onto a levee, higher than the surrounding land. From here onwards, the Yellow River divides the Hai He watershed to the north and the Huai He watershed to the south. The Huai He itself finds its origin in southern Henan. The southwestern corner of Henan, around Nanyang, is part of the drainage basin of the Han Shui River across the border in Hubei.

There are many reservoirs in Henan. Major ones include the Danjiangkou Reservoir on the border with Hubei, the Sanmenxia Reservoir, the Suyahu Reservoir, the Baiguishan Reservoir, the Nanwan Reservoir, and the Banqiao Reservoir.

Henan has a temperate continental climate, with most rainfall in summer. Temperatures average about 0 Celsius|?C in January, and 27 - 28 Celsius|?C in July.

Major cities:
  • Zhengzhou

  • Kaifeng

  • Luoyang

  • Xinxiang

  • Anyang

  • Luohe

  • Xuchang





Henan is divided into 17 Political divisions of China#Prefecture-level|prefecture-level divisions, all of them prefecture-level cities, as well as 1 directly administered county-level city.

The prefecture-level cities:

  • Zhengzhou (Simplified Chinese: 郑州市; Hanyu pinyin: Zh?ngzhōu Sh?)

  • Sanmenxia (三门峡市 Sānm?nxi? Sh?)

  • Luoyang (洛阳市 Lu?y?ng Sh?)

  • Jiaozuo (焦作市 Jiāozu? Sh?)

  • Xinxiang (新乡市 Xīnxiāng Sh?)

  • Hebi (鹤壁市 H?b? Sh?)

  • Anyang (安阳市 Āny?ng Sh?)

  • Puyang (濮阳市 P?y?ng Sh?)

  • Kaifeng (开封市 Kāifēng Sh?)

  • Shangqiu (商丘市 Shāngqiū Sh?)

  • Xuchang (许昌市 Xǔchāng Sh?)

  • Luohe (漯河市 Lu?h? Sh?)

  • Pingdingshan (平顶山市 P?ngdǐngshān Sh?)

  • Nanyang (南阳市 N?ny?ng Sh?)

  • Xinyang (信阳市 X?ny?ng Sh?)

  • Zhoukou (周口市 Zhōukǒu Sh?)

  • Zhumadian (驻马店市 Zh?mǎdi?n Sh?)


The directly administered county-level city is more accurately described as a sub-prefecture-level city:

  • Jiyuan (济源市 Jǐyu?n Sh?)


The 17 Political divisions of China#Prefecture-level|prefecture-level divisions and 1 directly administered county-level city of Henan are subdivided into 159 Political divisions of China#County-level|county-level divisions (50 District of China|districts, 21 county-level cities, and 88 County of China|counties; Jiyuan is counted as a county-level city here). Those are in turn divided into 2440 Political divisions of China#Township-level|township-level divisions (866 town of China|towns, 1234 township of China|townships, 12 ethnic townships, and 328 subdistricts).

See List of administrative divisions of Henan for a complete list of Political divisions of China#County-level|county-level divisions.




Henan is the most populous province of China. Just under 99% of Henan's population is Han Chinese, while Hui take up about 1%.




Henan is an agricultural province, leading the provinces of China in wheat and sesame production, and is third place overall in terms of total grain output. Cotton, rice, and maize are also important crops in Henan.

There are several important centers of coal production in Henan, including Pingdingshan, Yima, and Jiaozuo. Luanchuan County in western Henan is an important center of molybdenum extraction. Electricity generation is another important industry of Henan.




Most of Henan speaks dialects of Mandarin (linguistics)|Mandarin. Linguists put these dialects into the category of "Zhongyuan Mandarin". The northwestern corner of Henan is an exception, where people speak Jin (linguistics)|Jin dialects instead. The dialects of Henan are collectively called "the Henan dialect" in popular usage, with easily identifiable stereotypical features.

Henan opera is the local form of Chinese opera; it is also famous and popular across the rest of China. Henan Quju and Henan Yuediao are also important local opera forms.

Henan cuisine is the local cuisine, with traditions such as the Luoyang Shuixi (Luoyang "Water Table", consisting entirely of various soups, etc.); Xinyang Duncai (Xinyang brewed vegetables), and the traditional Kaifeng cuisine|cuisine of Kaifeng.

Important traditional art and craft products include: Junci, a type of porcelain originating in Yuzhou noted for its unpredictable colour patterns; the jade carvings of Zhenping; and Luoyang's Tangsancai ("Tang Three Colours"), which are earthenware figurines made in the traditional style of the Tang Dynasty.

Stereotypes

In recent years there has appeared in China an extremely negative stereotype of Henan. People in Henan are stereotyped to be ignorant, backward, uncultured, lazy, dishonest and untrustworthy. Several recently publicized events / phenomena, such as AIDS villages as well as various scandals, scams, and sensational crimes, may have contributed to this stereotype. There are also widely circulated anecdotes of companies refusing job applicants from Henan outright, and Henan job applicants posing as natives of other provinces. Some Henan writers have also published books that attempt to defend the reputation of Henan.




Two important railway arteries, the Jingguang Railway (Beijing - Guangzhou) and the Longhai Railway (Lianyungang - Lanzhou), pass through Henan and cross at Zhengzhou, the provincial capital. The Jingjiu Railway (Beijing - Kowloon) also passes through Henan.

With the recent completion of the Zhengzhou - Xinxiang expressway, a continuous expressway now crosses Henan from north to south, as part of a longer line linking Beijing with Shenzhen. Another expressway crosses Henan from east to west, and more are being built.

Important airports include: Xinzheng Airport, of Zhengzhou.



  • Shaolin martial arts temple, in Dengfeng

  • Mount Songshan, upon which Shaolin is located

  • Mount Jigong, on the southern border

  • The Longmen Grottoes, near Luoyang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000

  • White Horse Temple in Luoyang

  • annual Peony Show in Luoyang





Professional sports teams in Henan include:

  • Chinese Football Association Jia League

  • * Henan Construction Football Club

  • Chinese Basketball Association

  • * Henan Dragons


Colleges and Universities
Public (a partial list)
  • Henan Agricultural University (河南农业大学) (founded 1913)

  • Zhengzhou University (郑州大学)

  • Zhongyuan Institute of Technology (中原工学院)

  • Zhengzhou University of Light Industry (郑州轻工业学院)

  • Zhengzhou Institute of Aeronautical Industry Management (郑州航空工业管理学院)

  • North China Institute of Water Conservancy and Hydroelectric Power (华北水利水电学院)

  • Huanghe Science and Technology University (黄河科技学院)

  • Henan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine

(河南中医学院)
Shangqiu Normal Teacher's College



  • http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/43582.htm China Internet Information Center


Provinces_of_ChinaCategory:Provinces of the People's Republic of China
Category:Henan|

de:Henan
es:Henan
fr:Henan
ja:河南省
pt:Henan
fi:He'nan
no:Henan
zh-cn:河南

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Henan".


Last Modified:   2005-04-13


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