Henan
From ChinaTravelGuide
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[edit] Overview
Henan (河南), literally "south of (Yellow) river", got its name from its location: the south of the Yellow River (黄河). Henan is traditionally regarded as the cradle of Chinese civilization. Henan was called Yuzhou (豫州), the central province among the nine provinces (九州), over 2000 years ago. So today it is also often called Zhongyuan (中原), literally "central plains".
Henan is located in the central to the east part of China. The Yellow River (黄河), China's second largest river, flows through the northern part of Henan province. Henan borders 6 provinces, [[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. It's about 580 km from east to west and 550 km from north to south, with a total area of about 167,000 sq km.
With a population of 97,680k (per 2005 census), Henan is the most populous province of China by residency. Henan has 55 ethnic minority people with a total population of 1,143k (about 1.25% of total population in Henan), with Hui minority (回族) (about 950k) makes up most of the minority population. Other minorities are Mongol (蒙古族) and Manchu (满族), etc.
[edit] History
Henan province is considered the cradle of Chinese civilization due to its location on the Yellow River. This rich historic heritage has endowed Henan with numerous historic treasures, from primitive dwellings to earliest wheel thrown pottery. The remains of some of the earliest human settlements have been unearthed here, including the over 7000-year-old Peiligang Culture Site, the 6000-year-old Yangshao Culture Remains and the 5000-year-old Dahe Culture Remains. All these cultural remains have profound significance in the history of Chinese civilization.
[edit] Geography
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[edit] Attractions
Henan has the most underground historical relics (2nd most in terms of the number of historical relics above the ground) in China largely due to the fact that it's the origin of the ancient Chinese culture, and that three of the Seven Ancient Capitals of China are in Henan: Luoyang, Kaifeng and Anyang. No wonder most attractions in Henan are historical relics sites and museums.
- Zhengzhou (郑州)
- Mount Songshan (嵩山), near Dengfeng, one of the Five Sacred Mountains of China.
- Shaolin Temple (少林寺), on Mount Songshan.
- Dengfeng Astronomical Observatory (河南登封观星台), the oldest astronomical observatory in China.
- Luoyang (洛阳)
- The Longmen Grottoes (龙门石窟), a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.
- White Horse Temple (白马寺)
- Luoyang Peony Show (洛阳牡丹)
- Other areas
- Mount Jigong (鸡公山), on the southern border of Xinyang (信阳).
- Mount Jiuhua (九华山), on the southeast border.
- Yinxu (殷墟) in Anyang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
[edit] Culture
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[edit] Cuisine
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[edit] Notables
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[edit] Area and Postal Codes
| City | Area Code | Postal Code | City | Area Code | Postal Code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anyang (安阳) | 372 | 455000 | Dengfeng (登封) | 371 | 452400 | |
| Hebi (鹤壁) | 392 | 458000 | Jiaozuo (焦作) | 391 | 454150 | |
| Kaifeng (开封) | 378 | 475000 | Luohe (漯河) | 395 | 462000 | |
| Luoyang (洛阳) | 379 | 471000 | Nanyang (南阳) | 377 | 473000 | |
| Pingdingshan (平顶山) | 375 | 467000 | Puyang (濮阳) | 393 | 457000 | |
| Sanmenxia (三门峡) | 398 | 472000 | Shangqiu (商丘) | 370 | 476000 | |
| Xinxiang (新乡) | 373 | 453000 | Xinyang (信阳) | 376 | 464000 | |
| Xuchang (许昌) | 374 | 461000 | Zhengzhou (郑州) | 371 | 450000 | |
| Zhoukou (周口) | 394 | 466000 | Zhumadian (驻马店) | 396 | 463000 |
