Capital of Henan, China
About Zhengzhou
Zhengzhou, previously romanized as Chengchow, is the capital and the largest city of Henan Province, China. With a population of 12.6 million people in 2021, it is China's 11th largest city by population. Zhengzhou is situated in north-central Henan Province at the eastern foothills of the Xiong'er Mountains and on the southern bank of the Yellow River; where its valley widens into the North China Plain. Zhengzhou is a major city within the Zhongyuan region, an area that has been continuously inhabited for over 4,000 years, and is considered a cradle of Chinese civilization. It is one of China's nine national central cities, serving as a major political, economic and transport hub. The Zhengzhou metropolitan area, including Zhengzhou and Kaifeng, is the core area of the Central Plains Economic Zone.
Etymology
The settlement was originally known as "Guancheng", meaning "City of the Guan", named after the Guan family who held the area as a city-state. In 583 AD, it became the seat of a prefecture and was renamed "Guanzhou", with "zhou" indicating a prefectural administrative division. The character Zheng (郑) refers to the Zheng state, which once governed the region.
History
The Shang dynasty established Aodu (隞都) or Bodu (亳都) in Zhengzhou. This prehistoric city had become abandoned as ruins long before the First Emperor of China in 260 BC. Since 1950, archaeological finds in a walled city in Eastern Zhengzhou have provided evidence of Shang dynasty settlements in the area around 1600 BC. Outside this city, remains of large public buildings and a complex of small settlements have been discovered. The site is generally identified with the Shang capital of Ao and is preserved in the Shang dynasty Ruins monument in Guancheng District. The Shang, who continually moved their capital due to frequent natural disasters, left Ao at around the 13th century BC. The site, nevertheless, remained occupied; Zhou (post-1050 BC) tombs have also been discovered. Legend suggests that in the Western Zhou period (1111–771 BC) the site became the fief of a family named Guan. …
Geography
Located just north of the province's centre and south of the Yellow River, Zhengzhou borders Luoyang to the west, Jiaozuo to the northwest, Xinxiang to the northeast, Kaifeng to the east, Xuchang to the southeast, and Pingdingshan to the southwest. With the land within its administrative borders generally sloping down from west to east, Zhengzhou is situated at the transitional zone between the North China Plain to the east and the Song Mountains and Xionger Mountains to the west, which are part of the greater Qinling range. The city centre is situated to the south of the middle reach of the Yellow River, where its valley broadens into the great plain. Zhengzhou is at the crossing point of the north–south route skirting the Taihang Mountains and the mountains of western Henan. …
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