Zhengzhou 郑州
—  Prefecture-level city  —
郑州市
Clockwise from top:Zhengdong New Area, Erqi Memorial Tower, Shaolin Monastery, Emperors Yan and Huang
Motto: Partnership, Openness, Innovation, and Harmony (博大、开放、创新、和谐)
Zhengzhou
Coordinates: 34°46′N 113°39′E / 34.767°N 113.65°E / 34.767; 113.65Coordinates: 34°46′N 113°39′E / 34.767°N 113.65°E / 34.767; 113.65
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Henan
City seat	Zhongyuan
Subdivisions	List Districts Erqi Guancheng Hui Huiji Jinshui Shangjie Zhongyuan County-level cities Dengfeng Gongyi Xingyang Xinmi Xinzheng County Zhongmu
Government
• Mayor	Ma Yi
Area
• Prefecture-level city	7,507 km2 (2,898 sq mi)
• Urban	1,024 km2 (395 sq mi)
• Metro	1,979 km2 (764 sq mi)
Population (2010 census)
• Prefecture-level city	8,626,505
• Density	1,100/km2 (3,000/sq mi)
• Urban	3,132,000
• Urban density	3,100/km2 (7,900/sq mi)
• Metro	3,980,250
• Metro density	2,000/km2 (5,200/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC (UTC+8)
Postal code	450000
Area code(s)	371
License plate prefixes	豫A
Website	http://www.zhengzhou.gov.cn/

Zhengzhou (Chinese: 郑州; pinyin: Zhèngzhōu; Mandarin pronunciation: [tʂɤ̂ŋtʂóu̯]; Postal map spelling: Chengchow), is the capital and largest city of Henan province in north-central China. A prefecture-level city, it also serves as the political, economic, technological, and educational centre of the province, as well as a major transportation hub for Central China. The city centre lies on the southern bank of the Yellow River, and is one of the Eight Great Ancient Capitals of China.^[1]

With 8,626,505 inhabitants according to the 2010 census and 3,980,250 in its built-up area (6 urban districts + 5 City + 1 County), the city is one of the main built up areas of Henan region. Zhengzhou is now a rapidly growing city.

History[link]

Early history[link]

The Shang Dynasty established Aodu (隞都) or Bodu (亳都) in Zhengzhou (see also: History of China). This pre-historical city had been long lost even before the time of the First Emperor of China. Since 1950 archaeological finds in a walled city in Eastern Zhengzhou known have provided evidence of Neolithic Shang Dynasty settlements in the area.^{[citation needed]} Outside this city, in addition to remains of large public buildings, a complex of small settlements has been discovered. The site is generally identified with the Shang capital of Ao. It is preserved in the Shang Dynasty Ruins monument in Guanchen District. The Shang, who continually moved their capital due to frequent natural disasters, left Ao at around 13th century BC. The site, nevertheless, remained occupied; Zhou (post-1050 BC) tombs have also been discovered. Traditionally it is held that in the Western Zhou period (1111–771 BC) it became the fief of a family named Guan. From this derives the name borne by the county (xian) since the late 6th century BC — Guancheng (City of the Guan). The city first became the seat of a prefectural administration in AD 587, when it was named Guanzhou. In 605 it was first called Zhengzhou — a name by which it has been known virtually ever since.^[2]

The name Zhengzhou came from the Sui Dynasty (AD 581), even though it was located in Chenggao, another town. The government moved to the contemporary city during the Tang Dynasty. It achieved its greatest importance under the Sui (AD 581–618), Tang (618–907), and early Song (960–1127) dynasties, when it was the terminus of the New Bian Canal, which joined the Yellow River to the northwest. There, at a place called Heyin, a vast granary complex was established to supply the capitals at Luoyang and Chang'an to the west and the frontier armies to the north. In the Song period, however, the transfer of the capital eastward to Kaifeng robbed Zhengzhou of much of its importance. It was a capital during the five dynasties of Xia, Shang, Guan, Zheng, and Han, and a prefecture during the eight dynasties of Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming, and Qing.^{[citation needed]}

Modern history[link]

In 1903 the Beijing–Hankou railway arrived at Zhengzhou, and in 1909 the first stage of the Longhai Railway gave it an east–west link to Kaifeng and Luoyang; it later was extended eastward to the coast at Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, and westward to Xi'an (Chang'an), Shaanxi Province, as well as to western Shaanxi. Zhengzhou thus became a major rail junction and a regional center for cotton, grain, peanuts, and other agricultural produce.^{[citation needed]} Early in 1923 a workers' strike began in Zhengzhou and spread along the rail line before it was suppressed; a 14-story double tower in the center of the city commemorates the strike. In 1938, during the war with Japan, the retreating Chinese Nationalist Army blew up the dikes retaining the Yellow River about 32 km northeast of the town, flooding a vast area. At about the same time, in their drive to relocate industry in the interior far from the invading Japanese, the Chinese transferred all the local plants to the west.^{[citation needed]}

When the Communist government came to power in 1949, Zhengzhou was a commercial and administrative center, but it had virtually no industry.^{[citation needed]} Because it was the center of a densely populated cotton-growing district, it was developed into an industrial city, with industry concentrated on the west side so that the prevailing northeast winds would blow fumes away from the city.^{[citation needed]}

Zhengzhou also has a locomotive and rolling-stock repair plant, a tractor-assembly plant, and a thermal generating station. The city's industrial growth has resulted in a large increase in the population, coming predominantly from industrial workers from the north. A water diversion project and pumping station, built in 1972, has provided irrigation for the surrounding countryside. The city has an agricultural university.

Administration and Demography[link]

Zhengzhou is divided into 6 urban districts, 5 county-level cities and 1 county. These subdivisions are likely to undergo a significant change in the near future due to rapid urban expansion and urban planning.

The municipality is home to 8,626,505 million inhabitants (2010 census) and 3,980,250 in its built up area (6 urban districts + Xingyang City), making the city one of the main built-up areas of the province.

Map	#	Name	Areakm²	Pop.
11. Gongyi 7. Xingyang 10. Xinmi 9. Dengfeng 8. Xinzheng 12. Zhongmu 01 02 03 04 06 05 ▲ ▲ ▲
	— Urban districts —
	01■	Jinshui District	242	1,588,611
	02■	Erqi District	159	712,597
	03■	Huiji District	206	269,561
	04■	Guancheng District	204	645,888
	05■	Zhongyuan District	195	905,430
	06■	Shangjie District	64.7	131,540
	—County and County-level cities —
	07■	Xingyang	908	613,761
	08■	Xinzheng	873	758,079
	09■	Dengfeng	1220	668,592
	10■	Xinmi	1001	797,200
	11■	Gongyi	1041	807,857
	12■	Zhongmu County	1393	727,389

Geography[link]

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. The prefecture spans 34° 16' ~ 34° 58 N latitude and 112° 42' ~ 114° 14' E longitude, covering a total area of 7,446.2 square kilometres (2,875.0 sq mi), including the metropolitan area, which covers 1,013.3 square kilometres (391.2 sq mi), and the city centre, which occupies 147.7 square kilometres (57.0 sq mi).

The section of the Yellow River flowing through the prefecture extends 150.4 kilometers. Mountains loom over the western counties of Gongyi and Dengfeng while the easternmost county of Zhongmou is a vast, fertile floodplain, with the counties in between being hilly transitions.

Climate[link]

Zhengzhou experiences a monsoon-influenced, four-season humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cwa), with cool, dry winters and hot, humid summers. Spring and autumn are dry and somewhat abbreviated transition periods. The city has an annual average temperature of at 14.4 °C (57.9 °F), with monthly daily mean temperatures ranging from 0.1 °C (32.2 °F) in January to 27.0 °C (80.6 °F) in July. The frost-free period lasts on average 220 days.^[3]

Rainfall is primarily produced by the monsoonal low during summer; in winter, when the vast Siberian High dominates due to radiative cooling from further north, the area receives little precipitation. During the summer season, the city is also often affected by tropical depressions, which bring additional amounts of rain. The annual precipitation is about 630 millimetres (25 in), and there are about 2200 hours of sunshine per year.

Culture and tourism[link]

Henan Museum

As an ancient Chinese capital and a traditional trading center, Zhengzhou maintains abundant cultural heritage that reflects its glorious history as well as the culture of Henan Province. Zhengzhou Confucius Temple, initially built in the Eastern Han Dynasty 1,900 years ago, is one of the oldest Confucius Temples in China. Other important architectural heritage in the city includes the Remains of the Shang Dynasty, Town God Temple, and Erqi Memorial Tower. There are the remains of the Shang Dynasty capital city (3,600 years ago) in Zhengzhou's east side located around Shangcheng lu (商城路).^[2]

The best known tourist attraction is the Shaolin Temple (少林寺), which is more than 50 miles southwest of downtown Zhengzhou. The Shaolin Temple is not only known as one of China's important Buddhist shrines, but also as the ancient center of Chinese kung-fu.

Zhengzhou's most notable cultural institution is the Henan Museum (河南省博物院), one of China's most important museums which includes exhibits from prehistoric times, including dinosaur bones, up through the Qing Dynasty.

Zhengzhou Zoo (动物园, Dong Wu Yuan) is located on Hua Yuan Lu (花园路). The newly built Zhengzhou Botanic Garden is at the western edge of Zhengzhou city.

Other famous attractions of Zhengzhou include the Song Mountain (Song Shan, now is a World Geopark recognised by UNESCO), Yellow River and the birth place of Huangdi(黄帝)(recognized as the ancestor of Chinese people).

• Martial arts: Shaolin Monastery (shào lín sì) (Buddhist Monastery)
• Chinese opera: Henan opera (yù jù)

Pagoda Forest at Shaolin Temple   Kang Baiwan's Mansions   Mount Song   Mausoleums of the Song Dynasty   Temple of the Central Marchmount

Economy[link]

Zhengzhou, along with Xi'an, Chengdu, Chongqing and Wuhan, is one of the most important cities in inland China. It is the second largest city in central China (including provinces of Henan, Shanxi, Anhui, Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi). It is the economic center of Henan Province and the surrounding areas such as southeastern Shanxi Province and southwestern Shandong Province. Due to its strategic location in one of the most populous areas in the world (nearly 100 million people in Henan Province alone) and in China's railway, road and aviation transport networks, Zhengzhou is increasingly attracting domestic and international investment as well as migrants from other areas, transforming the city into one of the largest economic centers in China. GDP per capita of Zhengzhou was RMB40,398 in 2008.^[5]

Agriculture[link]

By the end of 2006, Zhengzhou had a total population of over 7 million, of which 2.88 million lived in rural areas.^[6] Its main products include apples, paulownia, tobacco, maize, cotton, and wheat. In addition, Zhengzhou also produces Yellow River carp, Zhengzhou watermelons, Xinzheng jujube, [Xingyang] dried persimmons, Guangwu Pomegranate and Zhongmu garlic, all of which are specialties that are rarely found outside the region.

Sanquan and Synear, some of China's largest fast frozen food producers are located in the city.^{[citation needed]}

Mining and Manufacturing[link]

Zhengzhou and the surrounding area have large reserves of coal and other minerals. Coal mining and electricity generation are traditionally important in the local economy.

Zhengzhou has been one of the major industrial cities in The People's Republic of China since 1949. The city's staple industry is textiles. Others manufactured items include tractors, locomotives, cigarettes, fertilizer, processed meats, agricultural machinery, and electrical equipment. Some high-tech companies in new material, electronics and biotechnology are also growing rapidly during the recently years, especially in the high-tech industrial park in the northwest of the city.^{[citation needed]}

• Yutong, China's largest bus producer.
• Shaolin Bus, a famous small-to-medium-sized bus producer.^[7]
• Zhengzhou Nissan, a subsidiary of Dongfeng Nissan, specializing in the manufacture of SUVs and pickup trucks. In 2010, Nissan opened its second plant in the city.^[8]
• Zhengzhou Unique Industrial Equipment Co., Ltd., a large tractor and agricultural equipment manufacturer.

Services[link]

The service industry of Zhengzhou include retail, wholesale, hospitality, finance, exhibition, transport and delivery, tourism, education. With a number of domestic and international institutions having regional offices in the city, Zhengzhou is becoming the financial center in central China. Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE) is one of the only three future exchanges (inc. Shanghai Future Exchange and Dalian Commodity Exchange) in China and is becoming an important global player specialised in agricultural future exchange. Equipped with newly built facilities such as Zhengzhou International Conference and Exhibition Center. Third party logistics (3PL) in Zhengzhou has also been experiencing industrial boom during the past few years. As a transit and tourist center of Henan Province and central China, Zhengzhou is the center of Henan cuisine.

• Dennis, a regional retail chain.
• Henan Construction, a large real estate developer, which owns one of the China Super League's soccer clubs.

Economic Development Zones[link]

Zhengdong CBD

The Zhengdong New Area, also known as Zhengzhou Eastern New District, similar to Hangzhou Bay New Area in Ningbo and Hengqin New Area in Zhuhai, is just one of dozens of major economic zones that are currently developing in various regions of China.^[9]

The Henan province and Zhengzhou City established and developed Zhengdong New Area, Mr. Kisho Kurokawa, a Japanese world-renowned planner and architect, was appointed to design the overall planning scheme for Zhengdong New Area. He brought in advanced ideas including ecological city, co-existing city, metabolic city and ring city ideas. The scheme won the "Prominent Award for City Planning Design" at the first session of Annual Meeting of the World Architects Alliance in 2002.

Zhengdong New Area, located at the eastern Putian district clusters in the overall planned Zhengzhou City and approved by the State Council, stretches from the State Highway 107 in the west to the Jing-Zhu Expressway in the east, from Zhengzhou Airport Expressway in the south to the Lian-Huo Expressway in the north. Zhengdong New Area is the key project of Henan province. Its total planned area is 105 square kilometers and short-term planned construction area is 45 square kilometers.

Currently, a six-star hotel in the CBD is being built. When finished, the hotel building, with a height of 280 meters, will become the tallest building in Zhengzhou.

Zhengdong CBD also holds China's largest wetland filtration system for water.

Industrial Zones[link]

• Zhengzhou New & Hi-Tech Industries Development Zone

Zhengzhou High & New Technology Industries Development Zone was established in 1988, and approved by the state Council of PRC to be a state development zone on Mar.6,1991. It was appraised to be advanced high tech zone of China respectively in 1993, 1998 and 2002. The Zone currently covers a total area of 18.6 square kilometers. An extension plan was approved by Zhengzhou Municipal Government, the various construction work started in 2004. Under the development strategy of “multiple parks in one zone”, the Zone has been making great efforts to promote the development of software,information technologies, new materials, bio-pharmaceutical and photo-machinery-electronic industries.^[10]

• Zhengzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone

Zhengzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone was approved as state-level development zone on February 13, 2000. The zone has a developed area of 7 square kilometers. Industries encouraged include Electronics Assembly & Manufacturing, Telecommunications Equipment, Trading and Distribution, Biotechnology/Pharmaceuticals, Instruments & Industrial Equipment Production, Medical Equipment and Supplies, Shipping/Warehousing/Logistics and Heavy Industry.^[11]

• Zhengzhou Export Processing Area

Zhengzhou (Henan) Export Processing Zone was established on June 21, 2002 with approval by the state council. Its planned area is 2.7 square kilometers. Zone A is located in Zhengzhou National Economic & technological Development Area and began to operate on June 1, 2004. The area of land developed is 0.893 square kilometers at present. Zone B is located in Zhengzhou Airport Area and is adjacent to Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport on the north and it covers a planned area of 5 square kilometers with bonded logistics zone, bonded processing zone and supporting industry zone, etc.^[12]

Transport[link]

Rail[link]

Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport

Zhengzhou, where the Longhai railway (east-west) meets the Jingguang railway (north-south), is a major railway hub in China. Nearly all trains on routes to Beijing, Shanghai and Xi'an pass through Zhengzhou. It is officially recognized as one of the eight major railway centers by the Ministry of Railway of China.^{[citation needed]} Zhengzhou is easy to reach from Beijing (between 5–8 hours) and Shanghai (6–14 hours) by train. Journeys to Xi'an North Station using the Zhengzhou-Xi'an high-speed rail line are possible in approximately two hours.

In the new national high-speed railway network under construction, two most important lines -- Jingguang (Beijing to Guangzhou), Xulan (Xuzhou to Lanzhou, extended to Shanghai and Urumuqi) intersect in Zhengzhou, which guarantees the city a strategic transport advantage for the future. When completed, the high-speed railway network will provide fast train service from the city to Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Xi'an and Wuhan at a speed of 350 km/h. The new high-speed railway station (the New Zhengzhou Station), as one of the largest in Asia, is under construction in Zhengdong New Area.

Proposed high-speed railway connections between Zhengzhou and Chongqing, Jinan, Hefei and Taiyuan are under discussion.^{[citation needed]}

Highways[link]

The surrounding area of Zhengzhou, along with Yangtze Delta (Shanghai), Pearl River Delta (Hong Kong-Guangzhou) and Beijing Metropolitan area, has the highest highway density in China. Zhengzhou is the center of Henan highway network that provides roughly one hour road trip to the surrounding cities of Kaifeng, Xinxiang, Xuchang, Jiaozuo and Luoyang. Other major cities within the province can be reached in 3 hours. National highway network also links Zhengzhou to all major cities in China.

• China National Highway 220

Bus[link]

The first project of Zhengzhou Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System was completed in 2009, which provides a 30 km long circle line (B1) along the Second Ring Road in the city. The BRT B1 buses run on exclusive lanes at both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions. There are branch BRT routes (B11 to B19) linking B1 route and other important part of the city.

Air[link]

Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport is recognized as one of the eight major gateway airports by the Civil Aviation Administration of China. It is 37 km southeast of the city centre.

On February 8, 2009, the direct air route between Zhengzhou and Taipei was launched at Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport. The Zhengzhou-Taipei flight was operated by Shenzhen Airlines.^[13]

Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport is the headquarters for Henan Airlines and also a focus city of China Southern Airline and Shenzhen Airlines

Subway[link]

The plan of "Zhengzhou Metro line No. 1" as well as "Zhengzhou Subway line No. 2", recently have been approved by National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in Feb. 2009.^[14] Zhengzhou Subway, will be a rapid transit rail network that serves both the urban and suburban districts of Zhengzhou municipality. As planned, those two projects will start from 2009 and will be finished in 2013 and 2015 respectively.^[15] Also as referenced in the long term plan, there are another 4 lines pending approval,^[16] Line 3 and Line 4 will be under construction during 2015-2020 and will be in operation by 2020, project on Line 5 and Line 6 will begin since 2020.^[17]

Colleges and universities[link]

Public[link]

• Zhengzhou University (郑州大学)
• Henan Agricultural University (河南农业大学)
• Henan University of Technology (河南工业大学 formerly Zhengzhou Institute of Technology)
• Henan University of Finance and Economics （河南财经学院）
• Zhongyuan Institute of Technology (中原工学院)
• Zhengzhou University of Light Industry (郑州轻工业学院)
• Zhengzhou Institute of Aeronautical Industry Management (郑州航空工业管理学院)
• North China Institute of Water Conservancy and Hydroelectric Power (华北水利水电学院)
• Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (河南中医学院)
• Henan Textile University (河南纺织专科学校)
• Henan Shaolin Temple Kung fu School China(河南少林寺功夫学校)
• Henan Teacher-training College (河南师范大学)

Military[link]

• Information Engineering University of People's Liberation Army (解放军信息工程大学)

Private[link]

• Zhengzhou College of Economics (郑州经济专修学院)
• Huanghe S&T University (黄河科技学院)
• Sias International University (郑州大学西亚斯国际学院)
• Shengda Economics, Trade and Management College of Zhengzhou (郑州升达经贸管理学院)

Notable people[link]

• Bai Juyi (772 – 846), Tang Dynasty poet.
• Deng Yaping (1973 – ), a four-time table tennis Olympic champion.
• Du Fu (712—770), Tang Dynasty poet, born in Gongyi (now in Zhengzhou).
• Wei Wei (1920—2008), a modern era writer.

Politics[link]

The current mayor is Zhao Jiancai (赵建才) from February 2006.

List of the CPC Party Chiefs of Zhengzhou:

1. Gu Jingsheng (谷景生): October 1948-December 1948
2. Wu Defeng (吴德蜂): December 1948-June 1949
3. Zhao Wucheng (赵武成): June 1949 - April 1953
4. Song Zhihe (宋致和): April 1953-August 1956
5. Wang Lizhi (王黎之): August 1956-January 1968
6. Wang Hui (王辉): March 1971-January 1974
7. Zhang Junqing (张俊卿): January 1974-December 1977
8. Yu Yichuan (于一川): December 1977-December 1979
9. Li Baoguang (李保光): December 1979-May 1983
10. Jiang Jinfei (蒋靳非): May 1983-September 1984
11. Yao Minxue (姚敏学): September 1984-August 1987
12. Cao Lei (曹磊): August 1987-July 1990
13. Song Guochen (宋国臣): July 1990-May 1992
14. Zhang Deguang (张德广): May 1992-December 1995
15. Wang Youjie (王有杰): December 1995-June 2001
16. Li Ke (李克): June 2001-

Twin towns — Sister cities[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Zhengzhou is twinned with:

International[link] Jinju, South Korea Saitama, Japan Richmond, Virginia, United States Samara, Russia Schwerin, Germany Shumen, Bulgaria Cluj-Napoca, Romania Irbid, Jordan Joinville, Brazil Campo Grande, Brazil Mariental, Namibia Napoli, Italy

Domestic[link] Guangzhou, Guangdong Yichun, Heilongjiang Haikou, Hainan Jinan, Shandong Wenzhou, Zhejiang Qingdao, Shandong Lianyungang, Jiangsu Ningbo, Zhejiang Wuxi, Jiangsu

Zhengzhou view from space

See also[link]

• History of Zhengzhou
• List of historical capitals of China
• Zhengzhou Foreign Language School

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Zhengzhou

• Zhengzhou travel guide from Wikitravel
• Zhengzhou Government website (Chinese)
• Zhengzhou Map
• Zhengzhou Technology Markets
• Zhengzhou INTLR Tech
• Search for Zhengzhou bus lines
• Zhengzhou Connections