The Australia-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry
of New South Wales

 


 

HENAN PROVINCE(河南省)

Henan Province is shown in black.

Note that Chinese names are in MingLiU (Chinese Traditional) screen font.  This may appear as question marks or other symbols if that font is not installed on your browser.

 


General Profile:


Population: 92,600,000.

Provincial Capital: Zhengzhou.  It became the provincial capital after 1949, mainly because of its position at the intersection of north-south and east-west rail lines.

Physical features: The province has an area of 167,000 square kilometres with rugged mountains in the west and rich agricultural land in the eastern and central areas.  It has a large population with only a moderate land area.  As a consequence, the population density is relatively high, with 554 people per square kilometre.

Rivers and lakes: There are four major rivers in the province: Yellow River, Sha River, Huai River and the Wei River, and there are no significant lakes.  The Yellow River cuts across the northern part of the province and the southwestern portion is part of the Yangtze River Basin.

Average temperatures: -3 deg C to 3 deg C in January; 24 deg C to 29 deg C in July.

Administrative divisions: 18 cities and 111 counties.

Historical significance:  The region is often regarded as the birthplace of the Han Chinese, with a history that goes back to urban-based settlements of the Shang Dynasty (1700 to 1027 BC), during which the writing system was developed. 

Well known tourist sites include a number of Shang ruins in or near Zhengzhou (鄭州商城遺址), Yin Dynasty ruins (latter part of the Shang era) in Anyang(安陽殷商遺址)in the northeastern part of the province, the Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng(登封少林寺)and the White Horse Temple in Luoyang(洛陽白馬寺).

 


Natural Resources:


Henan's reserves of molybdenum, marble, asbestos, aluminium, natural gas, bauxite, coal, and refractory clay are among the largest in China.  In 1999, the province's coal output reached 80 million tons and ranked third in China, after Shanxi and Shandong.  The Zhongyuan oilfield(中原油田)is one of the largest oilfields in the country.  Currently, half of China’ s aluminium oxide comes from Henan. 

 


Economic Profile:

 

 

1999

2000

Indicators

Value

Growth

Value

Growth

 

 

(% pa)

 

(% pa)

Gross domestic product (RMB bn)

457.6

5.6*

512.6*

9.4*

Per capita GDP (RMB)

4,899

4.8

n.a.

n.a.

Disposable income per capita

 

 

 

 

  - urban (RMB)

4,532.4

7.4

4,766.3

5.2

  - rural (RMB)

1,948.4

4.5

1,985.8

1.9

Fixed asset investment (RMB bn)

77.4

4.4

88.5

14.3

Value added by sector

 

 

 

 

  - primary (RMB bn)

112.4

5.0

116.0

3.2

  - secondary (RMB bn)

209.0

4.0

240.1

15.3

  - tertiary (RMB bn)

136.7

8.7

155.6

13.8

Retail sales (RMB bn)

161.6

8.0

178.7

10.6

Inflation (CPI %)

-3.8

 

-0.8

 

Exports (US$ bn)

1.2

-7.5

1.6

33.3

  - by FIEs (US$ bn)

0.2

-4.0

0.3

50

Imports (US$ bn)

1.2

50.6

1.5

25

  - by FIEs (US$ bn)

0.2

0

0.3

50

Foreign direct investment

 

 

 

 

  - number of projects

261

-23.5

237

-9.2

  - contracted amount (US$ bn)

0.6

22.0

0.7

16.7

  - utilised amount (US$ bn)

0.5

-15.4

0.6

8.2

Notes: * In real terms
Sources: Statistical Yearbook of Henan

 

 


Infrastructure:


Water Transport River transport is easily accessible, and will be even better when the Huai River projects are completed in the western region by 2004

Rail Transport Zhengzhou is one of the most important rail transport centres in China.  The Beijing-Guangzhou line(北京-廣州), the Jiaozuo-Zhicheng line(焦作-枝城)and the Beijing-Kowloon(北京-九龍)railways cross the province from north to south.  Other railways include the Lanzhou-Lianyungang(蘭州-連雲港), the Jiaozuo-Xinxiang-Heze(焦新-新菏線)and the Mengmiao-Baofeng-Luohe-Fuyang(孟寶-漯阜線)lines run through Henan from west to east.  The Euro-Asia Land Bridge (Lianyungang to Rotterdam) also passes through the city.

Roadways Major roadways in Henan include the Kaifeng-Luoyang Expressway, the Zhengzhou-Luoyang Expressway, the Anyang-Xinxiang Expressway, the Xuchang-Luohe Expressway and the Luoyang-Sanmenxia Expressway.

Construction of the Sanmenxia-Lingbao Expressway is in progress.  The section is part of China's longest expressway linking Lianyungang (Jiangsu Province), in the east with Horgos (Xinjiang Region) to the northwest.  This will also provide a better connection to neighbouring Shaanxi.

Air Transport Henan has airports in Zhengzhou, Luoyang and Nanyang and international flight services are available at Zhengzhou.  Chartered flights to Hong Kong and Macau are also available. 

Telecommunications Telecommunications services have made remarkable progress.  In the first quarter of 2001, there were 1.73 million subscribers for mobile phone services, ranked sixth in the country.  Recently, Henan had opened a new broadband IP network that is among the largest in China.

Electricity With rich coal resources, Henan acts as a centre for thermal power generation in China.  In 1999, the installed generating capacity in Henan reached 14.8 million kWh, ranking the sixth in the country.  Power stations are constructed at major cities in Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, Luoyang, Pingdingshan, Anyang, Hebi, Xinxiang, Jiaozuo and Sanmenxia.

 


Agriculture:


The province enjoys fertile land with an adequate amount of rainfall in the summer months, making it a major grain producer (second to Shandong in 1999).  It also ranks second in cotton production.  Other agricultural products include beans, rape seed, potatoes and peanuts.  Specialities include Lingbao dates, Huiyang day lilies and common carp.

 


Industry:


In 2000, Henan's industrial output totalled RMB 349.5 billion.  Major industries include food processing, coal, metallurgy, machinery, chemicals, petroleum refining, building materials, textiles and electronics. 

Brand names associated with the province include:

Ř       Xinfei electrical appliances,

Ř       Lotus Flower gourmet powder,

Ř       Chundu ham sausages and

Ř       Shuanghui ham sausages.

Most of the industrial output in the province occurs in the northern cities near the Yellow River.

 


Science and Technology:


There are two state-level economic and development zones in Henan:

Zhengzhou New and Hi-Tech Development Zone (鄭州高新技術產業開發區)

Approved by the State Council in March 1991, the zone focuses on electronics, new materials technology, medical science and biomedical engineering.

Luoyang New and Hi-Tech Development Zone(洛陽高新技術產業開發區)

Approved by the State Council in 1992, this is the centre of scientific research in Luoyang.  It consists of research institutes as well as engineering companies, with an emphasis on integrated photo-electric and electro-mechanical devices, electronic information, and bio-engineering.

 


Consumers’ Market:


In 2000, retail sales of consumer goods in Henan rose by 10.6 per cent to RMB 178.7 billion.  Major consumer markets are located in Zhengzhou, Nanyang and Luoyang.

As noted above, Zhengzhou is a major distribution centre in central China.  It is known for its array of wholesale markets, including am agricultural wholesale market and a building materials wholesale market..

Major commercial centres include Zhengzhou Commercial Mansion(鄭州商業大廈), Zhengzhou Asia Supermarket(鄭州亞細亞商場), Zhengzhou Hualian Commercial Mansion(鄭州華聯商廈), Zhengzhou Tianran Commercial Mansion(鄭州天然商廈), Zhengzhou City Department Store(鄭州市百貨大樓), Zhengzhou Central Trade Warehouse(鄭州貿易中心)and Zhongyuan Transaction Centre(中原貿易中心).

 


Key Cities in Hubei:


Northern Industrial Region – This consists of the cities in the Yellow River area:

Ř       Zhengzhou

Ř       Luoyang

Ř       Jiaozuo

Ř       Xinxiang and

Ř       Kaifeng.

Southern Industrial Region – This region opens into a broad valley that continues into Hubei Province.

Ř       Nanyang

The cities are listed below according to their ranking by industrial output.

 


Zhengzhou 鄭州:


1999 data:

Population

GDP

Industrial Output

Retail Sales

('000)

(RMB bn)

(RMB bn)

(RMB bn)

6,320 (+1.4%)

64.0 (+3.2%)

88.7 (+1.1%)

31.2 (+9.1%)

Zhengzhou is about 12 hours by rail from either Shanghai or Beijing.  It does not have a high rating in most travel guides, but the eastern fringe of the city has some of the oldest ruins and earliest relics of Chinese urbanisation. 

The old portion of Zhengzhou is considered to be a typical Shang city, characterised by large, rectangular buildings set inside stonewalls, and villages along the periphery.

 


Nanyang 南陽:


1999 data:

Population

GDP

Industrial Output

Retail Sales

('000)

(RMB bn)

(RMB bn)

(RMB bn)

10,450 (+0.3%)

48.5 (+4.1%)

61.4 (+5.5%)

16.7 (+13.6%)

Nanyang dominates the southern industrial region.  It is about 240 km from Zhengzhou.

 


Luoyang 洛陽:


1999 data:

Population

GDP

Industrial Output

Retail Sales

('000)

(RMB bn)

(RMB bn)

(RMB bn)

6,140 (+0.7%)

37.7 (+3.3%)

55.4 (+3.9%)

16.5 (+13.0%)

Luoyang is about 120 km east of Zhengzhou, along a roadway that has numerous sites but Luoyang has more than the other locations. 

The city became prominent during the Eastern Zhou Period (770-221 BC) when it replaced Xi’an as the capital.  It remained the central city for 10 dynasties.

The White Horse Temple in Luoyang was the first Buddhist temple in China.

The city generally decayed during the Qing Dynasty and was rehabilitated shortly after 1949, with an industrialising program that was similar to that of Zhengzhou.

 


Xinxiang 新鄉:


1999 data:

Population

GDP

Industrial Output

Retail Sales

('000)

(RMB bn)

(RMB bn)

(RMB bn)

5,330 (+0.8%)

26.3 (+2.7%)

30.8 (-6.1%)

9.6 (+5.5%)

Together with Jiaozuo, Xinxiang occupies the northern side of the Yellow River.  Xinxiang lies slightly to the east of Zhengzhou, while Jiaozuo lies slightly to the west.

 


Jiaozuo 焦作:


1999 data:

Population

GDP

Industrial Output

Retail Sales

('000)

(RMB bn)

(RMB bn)

(RMB bn)

3,250 (+1.5%)

21.2 (-15.5%)

31.7 (-30.3%)

6.9 (+7.8%)

Together with Xinxiang, Jiaozuo occupies the northern side of the Yellow River.  Xinxiang lies slightly to the east of Zhengzhou, while Jiaozuo lies slightly to the west.

 


Kaifeng 開封:

 


1999 data:

Population

GDP

Industrial Output

Retail Sales

('000)

(RMB bn)

(RMB bn)

(RMB bn)

4,640 (+0.7%)

19.9 (+5.3%)

21.3 (+2.4%)

7.6 (+8.6%)

Kaifeng is about 69 km directly east of Zhengzhou and was an important capital city in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127 AD).  The dynasty was known for its development of cities, not only for administrative purposes but also as centres of trade, industry and commerce.

The city was destroyed in 1127 when the court was invaded from the north.  It was restored and rebuilt during the Qing Dynasty.

 


Information Sources:

 


Information contained in this page was obtained from:

Hong Kong Trade Development Council (http://www.tdctrade.com)

 


Additional Information:

 


We are in the process of maintaining regular contact with organisations in the cities listed.  Please contact us if you require additional information about Henan Province or any of the cities listed.

 

 


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