Everything about Henan totally explained
Henan, is a
province of the
People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-
character abbreviation is 豫 (
pinyin: yù), named after
Yuzhou Province (豫州 Yù Zhōu), a
Han Dynasty province (
zhou) that included parts of Henan. The name
Henan means "south of the
(Yellow) River" (Huang He).
With nearly 100 million people, Henan is the most populous
province of China by residency. 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 zhōngyuán) 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 cradle of
Chinese civilization.
History
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 each served as the capital city 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-
11th century BC), was centered in Henan. Their last capital, Yin, was located at 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 (near present day
Xi'an in
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
Hua (destroyed by
Qin in
627BC),
Chen,
Cai,
Cao,
Zheng,
Wei (衛), and powerful
Jin from
Shanxi to the north. Later on these were replaced with
Han and
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.
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 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 wouldn't be restored until
589, when the
Sui Dynasty reunified China.
Sui Emperor Yang's costly attempt to relocate the capital from
Chang'an to
Luoyang contributed to the downfall of Sui. The
Tang Dynasty that followed kept its capital in
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
(External Link
). In
1127, however, the Song Dynasty succumbed to
Jurchen (
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
Jiangnan 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.
Kaifeng served as the Jurchen's "southern capital" from 1157 (other sources say 1161) and was reconstructed during this time.
(External Link)(External Link) But they kept their main capital further north, 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) didn't 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 (
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 several million lives lost.
(External Link)
In
1975, the collapse of the
Banqiao Dam and other dams in southern Henan, following a
typhoon that caused extraordinarily high levels of rainfall, 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. It was exposed that
AIDS villages, where most of the population is
HIV positive, have resulted because of poor sterilization techniques. The initial cover up of the crisis by local officials, followed by the national exposure, has put Henan in a somewhat negative light.
In November 2004, martial law was declared in Zhongmou county, Henan, to quell deadly ethnic clashes between
Han Chinese and the Muslim
Hui Chinese.
(External Link) The reported number of deaths ranged between 7 and 148.
In the
2007 book
China Road, author
Rob Gifford stated that the Chinese "love to hate" Henan. Gifford says that many Chinese say "Henan ren hen huai" (河南人很坏,
Hanyu Pinyin:
Hénán rén hěn huài) meaning "People from Henan are very bad."
Geography
Henan is flat in the east and mountainous in the west and extreme south. The eastern and central parts of the province 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 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 originates 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
°C in January, and 27 to 28°C in July.
Zhengzhou is the province's capital and most populous city. Other major cities include
Kaifeng,
Luoyang,
Xinxiang,
Anyang,
Luohe, and
Xuchang.
Administrative divisions
Henan is divided into seventeen
prefecture-level divisions – all
prefecture-level cities – and one directly administered
county-level city.The prefecture-level cities are:
The directly administered county-level city (more accurately described as a
sub-prefecture-level city) is:
Jiyuan (济源市 Jǐyuán Shì)
The seventeen prefecture-level divisions and one directly administered county-level city of Henan are subdivided into 159 county-level divisions (50 districts, twenty-one county-level cities, and 88 counties; Jiyuan is counted as a county-level city here). Those are in turn divided into 2440 township-level divisions (866 towns, 1234 townships, twelve ethnic townships, and 328 subdistricts).
Demographics
Henan is the most populous province of China, with a population of 97,170,000 in 2004. If it were its own country, it would be the twelfth most populous, just behind Mexico. However, Sichuan used to be more populous before Chongqing city was carved out of it. Also, when considering migrants, Guangdong has the highest population in China, despite Hainan being splintered off of it.
Just under 99% of Henan's population is Han Chinese, while Hui account for virtually all the remaining 1%. It is the third most populous sub-national division in the world, after Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra of India.
Politics
The Government of Henan is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China.
The Governor of Henan is the highest ranking official in the People's Government of Henan. However, in the province's dual party-government governing system, the Governor has less power than the Henan Communist Party of China Provincial Committee Secretary, colloquially termed the "Henan CPC Party Chief".
Economy
Henan is a relatively poor province and given its large population of almost 100 million people, its GDP per capita is only about US$1,670. Since undergoing reforms, however, the speed of economic development has increased by an average of about 10% each year for the past twenty years. In 2006, Henan's nominal GDP was 1.25 trillion RMB (US$156.35 billion), a year-on-year rise of 14.1%. In 2005, Henan's primary, secondary, and tertiary industries were worth 184.3 billion RMB (US$23 billion), 553.93 billion RMB, and 315.28 billion RMB, respectively. Its per capita GDP reached 13,279 RMB (US$1,670)in 2006 (External Link). An industrial system of light textiles, food, metallurgy, petrol, building materials, chemical industry, machinery and electronics has been formed. Nearly one hundred products, such as coal, industrial cord fabrics, fridges, aluminium, color glass cases, gold, meat products, tires, chemical fibers, glass, cement, generated energy, and others are an important part of the national market. Industrial sales reached 1 trillion RMB in 2005, 3.1 times the figure for 2000. (External Link)
Henan is actively trying to build an open economy. In 2002, the total trade volume (import and export) was US$3.2 billion, including US$2.1 billion for export. 7,111 foreign enterprises have been approved, and foreign funds (FDI) of US$10.64 billion have been used in contracts with a realized FDI of US$5.3 billion. Foreign exchanges are increasing continuously. Friendly provincial relationships have been established with 16 states (districts) in the United States, Japan, Russia, France, Germany, and others. Some cities of Henan have established friendly relationships (sister city) with thirty-two foreign cities.
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.
Culture
Most of Henan speaks dialects of the Mandarin group of dialects spoken in northern and southwestern China. Linguists put these dialects into the category of "Zhongyuan Mandarin". The northwestern corner of Henan is an exception, where people speak Jin dialects instead. The dialects of Henan are collectively called "the Henan dialect" in popular usage, with easily identifiable stereotypical features.
Henan opera (Yuju) is the local form of Chinese opera; it's 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 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.
Notable people
Sun Tiantian, (b. October 12, 1981), tennis player
Zhao Ziyang, (October 17, 1919 – January 17, 2005), former Premier and CCP Secretary
Deng Yaping (b. February 5, 1973), four-time Olympic gold medalist.
Du Wei (b. February 9, 1982), professional football player
Ge Xin'ai, ping pong player
Chen Zhong, Olympic gold medalist in Taekwondo
Liu Guoliang, member of the Chinese ping pong team
Su Zhibo, the first Chinese gold medalist in the Asian Games
Shang Tang, the first ruling king of the Shang dynasty
Hui Shi (380 BC–?), philosopher
Xu Shen (c.58–c.147), editor of the Shuowen Jiezi
Ruan Ji (210–263), poet
Du Fu (712–770), considered one of the greatest of Chinese poets
Han Yu (768–824), one of China's most famous prose writers and poets
Li Shangyin (813–858), poet
Cheng Hao (1032–1085) and brother Cheng Yi (1033–1107), Neo-Confucian philosophers
Li Tang (c.1080–c.1130), painter
Yuan Shikai (1859–1916), second President of the Republic of China
Feng Youlan (1895–1990), philosopher
Lao Zi (Lao Tzu: dates uncertain), founder of Daoism
Mo Zi, founder of Mohism
Lie Yukou (c.4th century BC), Daoist philosopher
Su Qin
Han Fei (c.280–233 BC), Legalist philosopher
Chen Sheng (known in some sources as Chen She) and Wu Guang (both d. 209 BC or 208 BC), leaders of the first rebellion against Qin Dynasty
Zhang Shizhi, a government official well known for his incorruptibility
Jia Yi, a Chinese poet and statesman of the Han Dynasty
Zhang Heng, an astronomer, mathematician, inventor, geographer, artist, poet, statesman, and literary scholar of the Eastern Han Dynasty
Feng Yi, a general of the Eastern Han Dynasty
Zhang Ji (style-named Zhang Zhongjing) (150–219), an Eastern Han physician, the author of the Shanghan Zabing Lun
Xu Shu, one of Liu Bei's advisors during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
Sima Yi (179–251), a general, military strategist, and politician of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period
Xun Yu (styled-named Wenruo), an advisor to Cao Cao during the Three Kingdoms period
Xun You, an advisor to Cao Cao during the Three Kingdoms Period period
Deng Ai (?–264), an officer of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period
Fan Zhen (circa 450–515), a Chinese philosopher of the Southern Dynasty, remembered today for the treatise Shen Mie Lun (On the Annihilation of the Soul)
Transportation
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, there's an expressway that 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.
Xinzheng Airport is the province's main airport.
Tourism
Henan is located in the Yellow River valley where ancient people lived. Earlier in the New Stone Age, the light of civilization had appeared and the delicate potteries in the Peiligang Culture and Yangshao Culture, and the character signs and musical instruments 8,000 years ago have filled the present world and the ancient times with wonders. Three of the Seven Ancient Capitals of China are in Henan: Luoyang, Kaifeng and Anyang. Henan is one of the provinces that has the most historical relics in the country. There are 16 key national units of protecting historical relics and 267 provincial units of protecting historical relics. The over-ground historical relics are the second in China in number. Historical relics in museums take up one-eighth of those in China, and the underground historical relics are the first in China in number. In Henan Museum there are 120,000 historical relics, including over 40,000 rare ones.
Gaocheng Astronomical Observatory, the oldest astronomical observatory in China.
Annual Peony Show in Luoyang.
Mount Jigong, on the southern border.
Mount Song, near Dengfeng, one of the Five Sacred Mountains of China.
Shaolin Temple, on Mount Song.
The Longmen Grottoes, near Luoyang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.
Songyue Pagoda
Yinxu in Anyang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Youguo Temple with the Iron Pagoda
White Horse Temple in Luoyang
Baligou(Eight-mile valley)八里沟 in Xinxiang
Bigan Temple比干庙 in Xinxiang
Luwang Mausoleum潞王陵 in Xinxiang
Guan Mountain关山 in Xinxiang
Colleges and universities
Public (a partial list)
Zhengzhou University (郑州大学)(External Link)
Henan University (河南大学)(External Link)
Henan Normal University(河南师范大学)(External Link)
Henan Agricultural University (河南农业大学) (founded 1913)
Henan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine(河南中医学院)
Henan University of Science and Technology (河南科技大学）
Xinxiang University (新乡学院） [www.xxu.edu.cn]
Huanghe Science and Technology University (黄河科技学院)
Nanyang Institute of Technology
North China Institute of Water Conservancy and Hydroelectric Power (华北水利水电学院)
Shangqiu Normal University(商丘师范学院)
Zhengzhou Institute of Aeronautical Industry Management (郑州航空工业管理学院)
Zhengzhou University of Light Industry (郑州轻工业学院)
Zhongyuan Institute of Technology (中原工学院)
Miscellaneous topics
Professional sports teams in Henan include:
Chinese Basketball Association
Chinese Football Association Jia League
Further Information
Get more info on 'Henan'.
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