Henan

Henan

Henan, Wade-Giles romanization Ho-nan, conventional Honan, sheng (province) of north-central China. The province stretches some 300 miles (480 km) from north to south and 350 miles (560 km) east to west at its widest point. It is bounded to the north by the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei, to the east by Shandong and Anhui, to the west by Shaanxi, and to the south by Hubei. The Huang He (Yellow River) divides the province into two unequal parts—one-sixth north and five-sixths south of the river—and thus to some extent belies the name Henan (“South of the River”). Zhengzhou, the provincial capital, lies in northern Henan at the point where the north-south Beijing-Guangzhou (Canton) railway crosses the Huang He and meets the Longhai line running from east to west; Kaifeng, the former capital, is located about 45 miles (75 km) to the east. Area 64,500 square miles (167,000 square km). Pop. (2020) 99,365,519.