Henan Province, abbreviated as “Yu”, is a provincial-level administrative region of the People’s Republic of China with Zhengzhou as its capital. It is located in the east-central part of China, in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. As of August 2024, Henan governs 17 prefecture-level cities, 21 county-level cities and 1 county-level administrative unit directly under the province. The local dialects mainly include Central Plains Mandarin and Jin language. Major ethnic minorities are the Hui, Mongolian and Manchu peoples.
Henan got its name because most of its territory lay to the south of the Yellow River in history. In remote ancient times, the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River boasted crisscrossing rivers, dense forests and a large number of wild elephants. Henan was described as “a place where people lead elephants”, which originated the pictographic character “Yu”, the provincial abbreviation of Henan. In Tribute of Yu from The Book of Documents, the ancient territory was divided into the “Nine Provinces”, among which Yuzhou was situated at the center. Since most areas of Henan belonged to Yuzhou, it is also known as the “Central Plains” and “Central Prefecture”.
The terrain of Henan stretches from north to south and connects the east with the west, higher in the west and lower in the east. It consists of plains, basins, mountains, hills and waters, spanning four major river basins: the Haihe River, the Yellow River, the Huaihe River and the Yangtze River. Most of the province lies in the warm temperate zone, while its southern part crosses the subtropical zone. It features a continental monsoon climate transitioning from the northern subtropical zone to the warm temperate zone.
Henan is one of the core birthplaces of Chinese civilization. Primitive human activities appeared in the Central Plains as early as 600,000 to 700,000 years ago. In the Qin Dynasty, Sanchuan Commandery was established in present-day Henan, under which the “County of Henan” was set up, marking the first official use of “Henan” as an administrative region name. The Northern Song Dynasty represented a golden age in the medieval history of Henan. In October 1954, the provincial capital was moved from Kaifeng to Zhengzhou.
Located in the Central Plains, Henan is an important region approved by the State Council to support the implementation of national strategies such as the Rise of Central China, as well as ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin. It is the cradle of the Chinese nation, fine traditional Chinese culture and Chinese civilization, and the core area of civilization during the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties. More than 20 dynasties and over 200 emperors established their capitals in Henan. The Sui-Tang Grand Canal also runs through the province.
As of June 2024, Henan has 8 national historical and cultural cities (Luoyang, Kaifeng, Anyang, Shangqiu, Nanyang, Zhengzhou, Xun County and Puyang), 19 famous historical and cultural towns and villages, and 274 traditional villages at the national level. There are also 15 provincial historical and cultural cities, 78 provincial famous towns and villages, 758 provincial traditional villages, 25 historical and cultural blocks, and 2,473 historic buildings.
Henan boasts 4 global geoparks including Yuntai Mountain, Songshan Mountain, Wangwu-Daimei Mountain and Funiu Mountain, 15 national geoparks such as Shaolin Scenic Area of Songshan Mountain and Zhengzhou Yellow River, and 17 provincial geoparks including Mangdang Mountain in Yongcheng. It also has 13 national nature reserves such as the Nanyang Dinosaur Egg Fossil Group and 35 national wetland parks including the Minquan Old Yellow River Course. Yuntai Mountain Scenic Area, Yaoshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area, Chaya Mountain Scenic Area, Qihe Ecological Tourism Area and Chongdugou Natural Scenic Area are national eco-tourism demonstration zones.
As of August 2024, Henan is home to 724 A-level tourist attractions, including 16 AAAAA-level and 233 AAAA-level scenic spots. The province has 27 Excellent Tourism Cities of China, 1,486 travel agencies and 348 star-rated hotels.