Province · Central China
Henan
河南
The Central Plain, cradle of Chinese civilisation on the Yellow River
Henan is a province of central China on the middle and lower Yellow River, the heart of the Central Plain where the earliest Chinese dynasties arose. Luoyang, Kaifeng, Anyang and Zhengzhou were all ancient capitals; the province holds the Shang ruins of Yin Xu with the oldest Chinese writing, the Longmen Grottoes and the Shaolin Temple, and is one of China's most populous provinces and its leading wheat producer.
Key facts
- Capital
- Zhengzhou
- Abbreviation
- 豫 (Yù)
- Area
- about 167,000 km²[1]
- Resident population
- 97.44 million(as of end of 2025)[2]
- Gross regional product
- CNY 6.66 trillion(as of 2025)[2]
- Census population
- 99.37 million(as of 2020 census)[3]
- Divisions
- 17 prefecture-level cities, 1 directly administered county-level city[1]
- UNESCO World Heritage sites
- 5 (2000–2014), two shared[4]
Profile
- Chinese name
- 河南
- Abbreviation (简称)
- 豫
- Type
- Province
- Region
- Central China
- Capital
- Zhengzhou
- Area
- about 167,000 km²
- Divisions
- 17 prefecture-level cities and 1 directly administered county-level city (Jiyuan)
- Ethnic groups
- Han, Hui, Mongol, Manchu
- Languages
- Central Plains Mandarin, Jin
Languages
Central Plains Mandarin
中原官话
The Henan dialects of most of the province, heard on stage in Yu opera and widely understood across northern China.
Jin
晋语
Spoken north of the Yellow River around Anyang, Xinxiang and Jiaozuo, with a glottal ending typical of Shanxi.
Name and abbreviation
Henan means “south of the (Yellow) River”, although part of the province lies north of it. The name was used for a Han-dynasty commandery around Luoyang and for later administrations; the province in its present sense dates from the Ming. The abbreviation 豫 comes from Yuzhou (豫州), the central one of the legendary Nine Provinces of Yu the Great. The character's form combines 予 and 象, “elephant”, and is often linked with the elephants that lived in the region in the Shang period, though the etymology is debated.
Historic names
中原
“Central Plain”
The lower Yellow River plain centred on Henan, regarded in Chinese tradition as the heart of the civilised world.
豫州
The central province of the Nine Provinces of the Tribute of Yu; the source of the abbreviation.
中州
“central province”
Literary name for Henan, as in the Zhongzhou Yun, the rhyme standard of Yuan drama.
河洛
The region of the Yellow and Luo rivers around Luoyang, associated with the legendary He Tu and Luo Shu diagrams.
Land and climate
Henan lies where the mountains of western China give way to the North China Plain. The Taihang Mountains rise in the north-west, the Funiu Mountains — an eastern spur of the Qinling — in the west, and the Tongbai and Dabie mountains along the southern border. The Song Mountains stand between them near the centre. East of the hills stretches the broad Huang–Huai plain, the province's farming heartland, crossed by the Yellow River, whose raised bed runs between dykes above the surrounding land. In the south-west, the Nanyang Basin drains to the Yangtze.
Landforms
Mount Song
嵩山
The central of the Five Sacred Mountains, with the Shaolin Temple and early Buddhist, Daoist and Confucian sites.
Taihang Mountains
太行山
Sheer red-sandstone escarpments on the Shanxi border, with the Red Flag Canal and the Yuntai Mountain geopark.
Funiu Mountains
伏牛山
Forested range in the west, the watershed between the Yellow, Huai and Yangtze basins.
Huang–Huai plain
黄淮平原
The plain of the Yellow and Huai rivers, planted mainly with winter wheat and summer maize.
Nanyang Basin
南阳盆地
Basin in the south-west opening towards Hubei.
Rivers and lakes
Yellow River
黄河
Leaves the gorges at Sanmenxia and Xiaolangdi and flows onto the plain north of Zhengzhou, where its bed lies above the surrounding land — the “suspended river”.
Huai River
淮河
Rises in the Tongbai Mountains and drains the south of the province; the Qinling–Huai line is the conventional divide between north and south China.
Luo River
洛河
Tributary of the Yellow River through Luoyang, which takes its name from it.
Yi River
伊河
Flows through the gorge of the Longmen Grottoes before joining the Luo.
Danjiangkou Reservoir
丹江口水库
Reservoir on the Henan–Hubei border and the head of the middle route of the South–North Water Transfer Project.
Climate
Henan's climate is transitional between the warm temperate north and the subtropical south. Summers are hot and humid, with heavy rain in July and August that can cause floods; winters are cold and dry, with occasional snow. The south, beyond the Huai, is milder and wetter and grows rice and tea. Spring, with the Luoyang peonies in April, and autumn are the best seasons to travel.
History
Henan was the centre of Chinese history for three thousand years. Neolithic villages at Jiahu and Yangshao, the Bronze Age city of Erlitou, and the Shang capitals at Zhengzhou and Anyang mark the rise of Chinese civilisation; the Eastern Zhou, Eastern Han, Cao Wei, Western Jin, Northern Wei, Sui and Tang (as eastern capital) and Wu Zetian's Zhou ruled from Luoyang, and the Northern Song from Kaifeng. After the fall of Kaifeng in 1127 the political centre moved away, and the province suffered repeatedly from Yellow River floods and war, above all in 1938, when the Nationalist army breached the dykes to stop the Japanese advance, and in the famine of 1942–1943. Since the 1990s Zhengzhou has grown into a national transport and manufacturing hub.
c. 7000–5700 BCE
Jiahu
The Neolithic site in Wuyang yielded playable bone flutes, some of the oldest known instruments, and signs carved on tortoise shells.
c. 5000–3000 BCE
Yangshao culture
Named after the village in Mianchi where it was identified in 1921, the first Neolithic culture excavated in China, known for painted pottery.
c. 1900–1500 BCE
Erlitou
Palace foundations, bronze workshops and early ritual bronzes near Yanshi; many scholars link the site with the Xia dynasty.
c. 1300–1046 BCE
Late Shang capital at Yin
At Anyang the Shang kings left oracle-bone inscriptions — the earliest substantial body of Chinese writing — and royal tombs.
770 BCE
Eastern Zhou moves to Luoyang
The Zhou court moved east to Luoyi, beginning the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.
68
White Horse Temple
Traditionally dated as the first Buddhist temple in China, founded at the Eastern Han capital Luoyang.
494
Northern Wei moves to Luoyang
Emperor Xiaowen moved his capital from Datong and began the Longmen Grottoes; the Shaolin Temple was founded on Mount Song in 495.
960–1127
Northern Song capital at Kaifeng
Kaifeng, then called Dongjing, was among the largest and most commercial cities in the world until the Jurchen Jin captured it in 1127.
1642
Kaifeng flood
During the siege of Kaifeng by Li Zicheng, the Yellow River dykes were cut and the city was drowned, with enormous loss of life.
June 1938
Huayuankou dyke breach
Nationalist forces breached the Yellow River dykes north of Zhengzhou to halt the Japanese advance; the flood killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions.
1942–1943
Henan famine
Drought, locusts, war and requisitioning caused a famine in which millions died.
1954
Capital moved to Zhengzhou
The provincial seat moved from Kaifeng to the railway junction of Zhengzhou.
1960–1969
Red Flag Canal
Villagers of Linxian (now Linzhou) cut an irrigation canal along the Taihang cliffs to bring water from the Zhang River.
World heritage
World Heritage sites
Cultural · inscribed 2000
龙门石窟
More than 2,300 caves and niches with some 100,000 Buddhist statues carved from the late fifth to the eighth century on the cliffs of the Yi River south of Luoyang.
Cultural · inscribed 2006
殷墟
The late Shang capital at Anyang, with palace and temple foundations, royal tombs and the pits where oracle bones were found.
Cultural · inscribed 2010
Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in “The Centre of Heaven and Earth”
登封“天地之中”历史建筑群
Eight groups of buildings on and around Mount Song, including the Shaolin Temple, the Songyue Pagoda, the Songyang Academy and the Yuan-dynasty observatory.
Cultural · inscribed 2014 · shared
Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor
丝绸之路：长安—天山廊道的路网
Henan's components include the Han–Wei city of Luoyang, the Dingding Gate of Sui–Tang Luoyang, the Hangu Pass at Xin'an and a section of the Xiaohan ancient road.
Cultural · inscribed 2014 · shared
大运河
Henan's components include the Sui–Tang Huiluo and Liyang granaries and sections of the Tongji and Yongji canals.
Intangible cultural heritage (UNESCO lists)
Inscribed 2020
Taijiquan
太极拳
The martial and health practice traced to the Chen family village of Chenjiagou in Wen county, Henan, from where the Chen and later styles spread.
Culture
Henan regards itself as the root of Chinese culture: many surnames trace their ancestral homes to the Central Plain, and the Yellow Emperor's legendary home at Xinzheng draws root-seeking pilgrims. Buddhism entered China through Luoyang, Chan Buddhism took shape at Mount Song, and the Shaolin Temple and Chenjiagou made the province a centre of martial arts. Henan opera is one of China's most widely performed regional theatres, and the province has old traditions of ceramics, from Jun and Ru wares to Tang tri-coloured pottery.
Opera, music and dance
Henan opera (Yu opera)
豫剧
Loud, emotive regional opera with bangzi wooden-block percussion, performed across northern China; Chang Xiangyu made it famous in the twentieth century.
Shaolin kung fu
少林功夫
The martial tradition of the Shaolin Temple on Mount Song, taught today in the many martial-arts schools of Dengfeng.
Henan zhuizi
河南坠子
Sung storytelling accompanied by the two-stringed zhuiqin fiddle.
Crafts
Jun ware
钧瓷
Stoneware from Yuzhou with thick glazes that turn from sky blue to purple-red in the kiln, one of the five great wares of the Song.
Ru ware
汝瓷
Pale blue-green crackled ware made briefly for the Northern Song court at Ruzhou; very few pieces survive.
Tang tri-colour pottery
唐三彩
Lead-glazed tomb figures in amber, green and cream, excavated in quantity around Luoyang and reproduced there.
Zhuxianzhen woodblock prints
朱仙镇木版年画
New Year prints of door gods from a market town near Kaifeng, one of the oldest print traditions in China.
Festivals and customs
Yellow Emperor ancestral ceremony
黄帝故里拜祖大典
Ceremony at Xinzheng on the third day of the third lunar month honouring the Yellow Emperor as ancestor of the Chinese.
Luoyang Peony Festival
洛阳牡丹花会
Held every April when the city's peonies bloom, a tradition going back to the Tang and Song.
Xunxian temple fair
浚县古庙会
Large traditional fair in Xun county around the Lantern Festival, with clay whistles and folk performances.
Cuisine
Henan cooking, called Yu cuisine (豫菜), is not among the Eight Great Cuisines but claims great age through the Song capital Kaifeng. It is mild, balanced and based on wheat: noodles, steamed buns and flatbreads are the staples, often with mutton soup. Local specialities include Kaifeng's soup dumplings, Luoyang's water banquet and a peppery breakfast soup eaten across the province.
Signature dishes
Henan braised noodles
烩面
Wide hand-pulled noodles in rich mutton broth with kelp, tofu skin and coriander — the province's signature dish.
Hulatang
胡辣汤
Thick, peppery breakfast soup with beef, gluten and vermicelli, associated with Xiaoyao town in Xihua county.
Luoyang water banquet
洛阳水席
A sequence of twenty-four dishes, most of them served in broth, said to go back to the Tang.
Kaifeng soup dumplings
灌汤包
Thin-skinned steamed buns filled with meat and hot broth.
Daokou roast chicken
道口烧鸡
Chicken fried and simmered in spices, from Daokou in Hua county.
Carp with fried noodles
鲤鱼焙面
Sweet-and-sour Yellow River carp topped with a nest of fine fried noodles, a Kaifeng banquet dish.
Specialities
Xinyang Maojian
信阳毛尖
Green tea from the hills around Xinyang in the south, one of China's well-known teas.
The four Huai medicines
四大怀药
Yam, rehmannia, achyranthes and chrysanthemum from the old Huaiqing prefecture around Jiaozuo.
Xinzheng jujubes
新郑大枣
Red dates from the orchards of Xinzheng near Zhengzhou.
Dushan jade
独山玉
Multicoloured jade from Nanyang, carved since the Neolithic.
Notable people
Han Fei (c. 280–233 BCE)
韩非
Prince of the state of Han, based at Xinzheng, and the leading theorist of Legalism.
Zhang Heng (78–139)
张衡
Astronomer, mathematician and poet from Nanyang, known for his armillary sphere and seismoscope.
Zhang Zhongjing (c. 150–219)
张仲景
Physician from Nanyang, author of the Treatise on Cold Damage, a foundation of Chinese medicine.
Xuanzang (602–664)
玄奘
Buddhist monk from Yanshi near Luoyang who travelled to India and translated the scriptures he brought back.
Du Fu (712–770)
杜甫
The Tang poet, born in Gongyi between Zhengzhou and Luoyang.
Bai Juyi (772–846)
白居易
Tang poet born in Xinzheng, buried on the hill opposite the Longmen Grottoes.
Yue Fei (1103–1142)
岳飞
Southern Song general from Tangyin near Anyang, a national symbol of loyalty.
Economy
Henan is one of China's largest economies by output and its leading producer of wheat, growing about a quarter of the national crop. Food processing — pork, frozen dumplings, instant noodles — is a major industry. Zhengzhou has become a hub of rail, air and logistics and hosts one of the world's largest smartphone assembly plants; the province also makes buses, tractors, mining machinery and aluminium, and mines coal around Pingdingshan and Yongcheng.
Main industries
- Grain: wheat, maize, rice in the south; oilseeds and cotton
- Food processing: meat, frozen foods, flour and noodles
- Electronics assembly (Zhengzhou)
- Equipment: buses (Zhengzhou), tractors (Luoyang), mining and rail machinery
- Aluminium, coal and energy
- Logistics, rail and air freight
- Tourism based on heritage sites
Zones, ports and hubs
Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone
郑州航空港经济综合实验区
National pilot zone approved in 2013 around Xinzheng airport, the first built around an airport in China.
China (Henan) Pilot Free Trade Zone
中国（河南）自由贸易试验区
Established in 2017 with areas in Zhengzhou, Kaifeng and Luoyang.
China–Europe Railway Express from Zhengzhou
中欧班列（郑州）
Freight trains between Zhengzhou and Europe, operated since 2013.
Cities
- Zhengzhou郑州Capital · Historic city · Industrial centreShang city and crossroads of China's railways
- Luoyang洛阳Historic city · Cultural centre · Industrial centreCapital of thirteen dynasties, the Longmen Grottoes and the peony
- Kaifeng开封Historic city · Cultural centreBianjing, capital of the Northern Song, city built on cities
- Anyang安阳Historic city · Cultural centreYin, the last Shang capital, where Chinese writing was found
- Dengfeng登封Historic city · Scenic area · Cultural centreMount Song and the Shaolin Temple, “the centre of Heaven and Earth”
Getting there
- Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport is the main airport and a major cargo hub; Luoyang and Nanyang have smaller airports.
- Zhengzhou East is where the Beijing–Guangzhou and Xuzhou–Lanzhou high-speed lines cross, at the centre of the national high-speed network; lines radiate to Jinan, Chongqing, Hefei and Taiyuan.
- Luoyang Longmen, Kaifeng North, Anyang East and other stations link the heritage cities to the network.
Entry rules for foreign visitors are on the visa and entry pages.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Henan Provincial People's Government — Henan Provincial People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- 2025年河南省国民经济和社会发展统计公报 (Statistical Communiqué of Henan on the 2025 National Economic and Social Development) — Henan Provincial Bureau of Statistics (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Seventh National Population Census communiqués — National Bureau of Statistics of China (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- World Heritage List: China — UNESCO World Heritage Centre (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Intangible Cultural Heritage: China — UNESCO (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Henan — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)
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