Map of Henan
Henan is a first-level division of China. Its largest mapped city is Zhengzhou, with about 2.64 million people in the metropolitan area. The interactive map below is centred on Henan, and the tables list its 16 mapped cities along with the dams, World Heritage Sites nearest to them.
- Cities Mapped
- 16
- Largest City
- Zhengzhou
- Country
- China
Interactive Map of Henan
About Henan
Henan is a province in Central China. Henan is China's third-most populous province and the most populous among inland provinces, with a population of over 99 million as of 2020. The area around Henan was historically known as the Central Plains (Zhongyuan) and is considered the core region of Chinese cultural history.Four of the historical capitals of China, Luoyang, Anyang, Kaifeng and Zhengzhou, are in Henan. People from Henan sometimes underwent discrimination within China.
Henan has the 5th-largest provincial economy in China, the largest in Central China and among inland provinces, with a nominal GDP of CN¥5.88 trillion (US$926 billion) in 2021, surpassing that of Turkey (US$815 billion). If it were a country, it would be the 18th-largest economy by nominal GDP as of 2021.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Henan (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Henan in Depth
History
Regarded as the cradle of ancient Chinese culture, Henan is known for its historical prosperity and periodic downturns. The economic prosperity resulted from its somewhat fertile plains and its location at the heart of the country. Its strategic location also means that it has undergone more wars compared to certain other regions in China. The floods of the Yellow River have caused damage from time to time.
Archaeological sites reveal that prehistoric cultures such as the Yangshao Culture and Longshan Culture were active in what later is northern Henan since the Neolithic Era. The later Erlitou culture has been controversially identified with the Xia dynasty, the first and mostly legendary Chinese dynasty.
Geography
Henan's landscape include floodplains in the east and mountains in the west. Most of the province forms part the North China Plain, an area known as the "breadbasket of China". The Taihang Mountains intrude partially into Henan's northwestern borders from Shanxi, forming the south-eastern edge of Loess Plateau. To the west the Xionger and Funiu Mountains form a network of mountain ranges and plateaus, supporting one of the remaining temperate deciduous forests which once covered all of Henan. The Mount Song and its Shaolin Temple is located in the far east of the region, near the capital city Zhengzhou. To the far south, the Dabie Mountains divides Hubei from Henan.
Economy
Henan is the 5th-largest provincial economy of China, the second largest in South Central China after Guangdong, the largest in Central China and the largest among inland provinces, with a nominal GDP of 5.88 trillion RMB (US$926 billion) as of 2021, ahead of the GDP of Turkey of 815 billion. If it was a country, it would be the 18th-largest economy by nominal GDP and the 17th most populous as of 2021.
The 2021 Henan floods inflicted an estimated US$12.7 billion of economic damage in Henan.
Henan is one of China's major agricultural provinces, with grain production as its primary characteristic.
Demographics
With a population of approximately 98.2 million, Henan is the third most populous Chinese province after Guangdong and Shandong. It is the fifth most populous sub-national division in the world. If it were a country by itself, it would be the twelfth most populous in the world, behind Mexico and ahead of the Philippines. The hukou system shows Henan as the most populous province in China with over 103 million people, as it counts the migrant Henanese laborers as residents of Henan, instead of the province they reside in. 85.14 million are considered permanent residents of their registered households.
Henan exhibits demographic statistics indicative of a late stage in the demographic transition model.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Henan (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Henan: Key Facts
| Population | 99,365,519 (2020) |
|---|---|
| Area | 167,000 km² |
| Capital | Zhengzhou |
| Head of government | Wang Kai |
| Highest point | Laoyachan'ao |
| Established | 1949 |
Facts from Wikidata Q43684 (CC0).
History of Henan: Empires and States
The atlas records 51 polities whose mapped territory included part of Henan, from Shang Dynasty in 1600 BCE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.
| Polity | Period here |
|---|---|
| Shang Dynasty | 1600–1001 BCE |
| Zhou Dynasty | 1000–751 BCE |
| Spring and Autumn States | 750–481 BCE |
| Jin | 750–405 BCE |
| Chu | 750–224 BCE |
| Later Zhou | 750 BCE – 960 CE |
| Song | 480–285 BCE |
| Warring States China | 480–219 BCE |
| Zheng | 450–367 BCE |
| Han | 404–203 BCE |
| Zhao | 350–226 BCE |
| Qin | 225–219 BCE |
| Qin Dynasty | 218–209 BCE |
| The Han Dynasty | 202 BCE – 206 CE |
| Xin Dynasty | 6–22 CE |
| Cao Cao | 197–223 CE |
| Cao Wei | 224–264 CE |
| Western Jin | 265–425 CE |
| Former Zhao | 311–336 CE |
| Later Zhao | 337–352 CE |
| Former Yan | 337–370 CE |
| Former Qin | 371–393 CE |
| Later Yan | 394–401 CE |
| Later Qin | 394–416 CE |
| Liu Song Dynasty | 426–450 CE |
| Northern Wei | 451–533 CE |
| Eastern Wei | 534–554 CE |
| Northern Qi | 555–576 CE |
| Northern Zhou | 577–586 CE |
| Sui Dynasty | 587–625 CE |
| The Tang Dynasty | 623–910 CE |
| Later Liang Dynasty | 911–925 CE |
| Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms | 911–969 CE |
| Later Tang | 926–935 CE |
| Later Jin | 936–946 CE |
| Later Han | 947–959 CE |
| Northern Song | 961–1138 CE |
| The Song Dynasty | 961–1278 CE |
| Vassalage of Western Xia to Great Jin | 1139–1226 CE |
| Great Jin | 1139–1235 CE |
Also recorded: Southern Song, The Mongol Empire, Yuan Dynasty, The Ming Dynasty, Li Zicheng, Southern Ming, The Qing Dynasty, Republic of China, Kuomintang, Empire of Japan, People's Republic of China.
Historical Maps of Henan
Henan on the world map in each year one of these states held it:
Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.
Visiting Henan
Henan (河南 hé nán), Yu (豫 yù) for short, is a province located in the Northern Central Region of China. It shares its borders with six other provinces, Shandong to the northeast, Hebei to the north, Shanxi to the northwest, Shaanxi to the west, Hubei to the south, and Anhui to the east. The eastern portion is flat and part of the North China Plain, one of the most densely populated areas on Earth. Indeed Henan is the third most populous province in China, with almost 100 million people. The mountainous west and southwest is more remote and forested.
The Yellow River (mother river of the Chinese nation) runs through Henan. The province's name is from he (river) and nan (south), though there are five prefecture-level cities located north of the Yellow River.
Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Henan (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Largest Cities in Henan
16 cities mapped. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.
| # | Name | Population | Region | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zhengzhou | 2.64 million | Henan | Populated place |
| 2 | Nanyang | 1.94 million | Henan | Populated place |
| 3 | Shangqiu | 1.75 million | Henan | Populated place |
| 4 | Luoyang | 1.72 million | Henan | Populated place |
| 5 | Xinyang | 1.54 million | Henan | Populated place |
| 6 | Xinxiang | 903,000 | Henan | Populated place |
| 7 | Anyang | 887,000 | Henan | Populated place |
| 8 | Kaifeng | 872,000 | Henan | Populated place |
| 9 | Jiaozuo | 857,000 | Henan | Populated place |
| 10 | Pingdingshan | 849,000 | Henan | Populated place |
| 11 | Puyang | 666,322 | Henan | Populated place |
| 12 | Xuchang | 449,258 | Henan | Populated place |
| 13 | Luohe | 417,356 | Henan | Populated place |
| 14 | Zhoukou | 377,061 | Henan | Populated place |
| 15 | Hebi | 244,662 | Henan | Populated place |
| 16 | Dengzhou | 59,338 | Henan | Populated place |
Major Dams in Henan
1 dam mapped. Ranked by structural height. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.
| # | Name | Height | River | Capacity | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xiaolangdi Dam | 154 m | Yellow River | 1,800 MW | 2001 |
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Henan
3 World Heritage Sites mapped. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.
| # | Name | Inscribed | Type | Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Longmen Grottoes | 2000 | Cultural | (i) (ii) (iii) |
| 2 | Yinxu | 2006 | Cultural | (ii) (iii) (iv) (vi) |
| 3 | Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in “The Centre of Heaven and Earth” | 2010 | Cultural | (iii) (vi) |
Henan: Quick Answers
- Where is Henan?
- Henan is a first-level division of China, in Asia. Its mapped cities centre on 34.3637° N, 113.8260° E.
- What is the largest city in Henan?
- Zhengzhou is the largest city mapped in Henan, with a metropolitan population of about 2.64 million.
- How many cities are in Henan?
- YearMaps maps 16 cities and towns in Henan, with a combined metropolitan population of about 16.17 million. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.