Henan Travel Guide

Located in central China, Henan has the largest population in the country, with 98 million people. During China's history of 5,000 years, Henan served as a political, economic and cultural center for 3,000 years. Its one-character abbreviation is Yu, named after Yuzhou State, a Han Dynasty state (zhou) that included parts of Henan. The name Henan means "south of the River" (Huang He), and it's an important cradle of Chinese civilization.

Some people refer to Henan as a museum of Chinese history and culture. since the 21st century B.C., more than 200 kings and emperors of more than 20 kingdoms and dynasties located their capital cities here. Of the eight ancient capital cities in China, Henan has four: Luoyang for nine dynasties, Kaifeng for seven dynasties, Anyang and Zhengzhou of the Shang Dynasty.

The present Henan is inpiring. The economy is developing rapidly and people live and work peacefully and contentedly. Great achievements are being made in urban constrction and communications and also In major service industries such as accommodation, catering, hopping and entertainment. Henan, a mysterious and charming land, has already became a place for tourists both at home and abroad.

Provincial Capital: Zhengzhou

Area: Henan is China's 17th largest province with an area of 167,000 km².

Geography: Henan is situated in the heart of China's Central Plains, which boast two world Geoparks – Mt. Yuntai and Mt. Songshan, and the scenic mountain renges of Funie and Taihang. Other popular attractions are Xiaolangdi on the Yellow River, the Danjiang Reservoir and the Red Flag Canal.

Henan shares borders with six other provinces. It is bordered to the west by Shaanxi (northwest) and Hubei (southwest), and to the north by Shanxi (northwest) and Hebei (northeast). To the east lie Shandong (northeast) and Anhui (southeast), whose borders meet at a narrow strip of land which separates Henan from Jiangsu to the east.

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.

Population: With an estimated population of 93,600,000 residents in 2007, Henan is the second most populous province of China after Guangdong, which recently surpassed Henan due to an influx of immigrant workers from other provinces.

Administrative Division: Henan is divided into seventeen prefecture-level divisions – all prefecture-level cities – and one directly administered county-level city.

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.