South-Central China 中南地区

chapter 7 South-Central China 中南地区

Map 88 Subregional map of South-Central China.

16. Henan 河南 including 52 urban districts, 21 county-level cities, and 85 counties. With 94 million residents, Henan is the fourth Land area: 167,000 km2 most populous province in the country and also has a di- Population: 94,029,939 verse ethnic population of Hui, Mongol, and Manchu Capital: Zhengzhou 郑州 people. Ethnic minorities comprise 1.2 percent of the total population. Topography Western and eastern Henan have vastly different to- Henan province is at the very center of China, both cultur- pographies (Map 89). The eastern part of the province ally and physically. The province consists of 17 prefectures, belongs to the North China Plain while the western part

Map 89 Henan: Topography. of the province is covered with mountains. Two of China’s Demography most iconic rivers flow through Henan: the Yellow River Henan has a large population, which increased 3 percent in the north and the Huai River in the southeast. Henan between 2000 and 2010, from 91,236,854 to 94,029,939. is also home to Mount Song 嵩山, which lies southwest The proportion of urban residents increased slightly from of Zhengzhou, the capital of the province. Mount Song is 17 percent in 2000 to 20 percent in 2010. People holding a famous as the site of the Buddhist Shaolin Temple 少林寺 college degree formed only 3 percent of the total popula- and the Daoist Zhongyue Temple 中岳庙 [Central Mount tion in 2000, doubling to 6 percent in 2010, and were con- Temple]. centrated in the major cities of Zhengzhou, Kaifeng 开封, Henan’s economy is essentially agricultural, yielding and Nanyang 南阳. The sex ratio was 106.46 males per 100 abundant products such as grain, wheat, rapeseed, and a females in 2000 and dropped to 102.05 in 2010. The average large number of livestock, and its food processing indus- family size decreased slightly from 3.7 persons to 3.5 dur- try is well developed. Ninety percent of the ingredients ing the same decade. The percentage of elderly residents used by Chinese McDonald’s and KFC restaurants come rose from 10 percent to 13 percent (Maps 90–91). from Henan. The province is also rich in a wide variety of minerals and natural resources, and thus equipment man- ufacturing is another leading industry in Henan.