He'nan Province is located in the central part of China along the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, called “Yu” for short. Its name, meaning south of the River, because of most of its area in the south of the Yellow River.It is also named “Central Plains” or “Central China”.
He'nan Province is one of the main cradles of ancient Chinese civilization, and has always been praised as “a Portrait of China's Historic Culture”.
On this amazing land, great civilizations had been created, ranging back in time to the Peiligang culture (dating back to 8,000 years), Yangshao culture (dating back to 6,000 years) and Longshan culture (dating back to 5,000 years). Henan has many historical sites, such as Taihao Grave, located in Huaiyang (a county in southeast of Henan), which is the mausoleum of Fuxishi, the Great Ancestor of China. And Xinzheng city is the native place of Yellow Emperor (a legendary ruler of China in remote antiquity). There are many great and famous people from Henan. Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi, great thinkers and founders of Daoism of the late Spring and Autumn Period, are both from Henan. The world famous ancient scientist and astrologer Zhang Heng and the great musician of Zhu Zaiyu are also from Henan. The Chinese ancestors created a marvelous civilization and made glorious achievements that all Chinese take pride in.
Xu Guangchun, Party Secretary of the Provincial Committee of CPC, said:“Once being the political and economical center of the nation for centuries, Henan occupies a prominent position in the history of China. The famous ancient painting, Qingming Shanghe Painting by Zhang Zeduan, described vividly the prosperity of the flourishing capital of Song dynasty, the present-day Kaifeng.”
Some of He'nan Province's cities have been listed among the famous historical and cultural cities of China, such as Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Kaifeng, Anyang, Nanyang, Shangqiu and Junxian. The natural scenery of He'nan Province can be classified into four major parts. They are the natural scenery of Mountain Taihang, the natural scenery of Mountain Fu'niu, the natural scenery of Mountain Shongshan (the Central Mountain) and the Yellow River, the natural scenery of Mountain Dabie and Mountain Tongbai.