Henan Province is in the transitional area between the second and third steps of China’s four-step terrain rising from east to west, with rolling mountains over 1,000 meters above sea level in its western part and plain area of 100 meters or lower in its east. Laoyacha in Lingbao City, 2413.8 meters above sea level, is the highest peak in Henan. The province’s lowest point, 23.2 meters, is found at the place where the Huaihe River leaves the province.

High in the west and low in the east, even in the north and concave in the south, Henan Province is surrounded by four mountain ranges, the Taihang, Funiu, Tongbai and Dabie, which stand in its north, west and south, leaving subsidence basins here and there. In its middle and eastern parts there is a vast fluvial plain created by the Yellow, Huaihe and Haihe rivers. Mountainous regions comprise 44.3 percent of its total area, and the plains, 55.7 percent. Four rivers run across Henan, the Yellow River, Huaihe River, Weihe River and Hanshui River, with the Huaihe River valley covering up 53 percent of the province.

Located between the northern sub-tropical zone and warm temperate zone, Henan Province has distinctive four seasons with complicated weather conditions characterized with a hot and rainy summer. Southern Henan is in the northern sub-tropical zone. The province’s average temperature of the year is 13~15 degrees centigrade; the average rainfall is 1120~570 mm; and its frost-free period lasts 308~275 days.

Natural Resources:

Henan has water reserves of 4.84 million kw, of which 3.23 million kw can be explored. By the end of 2000, there were 2,394 reservoirs in the province, and 4.6 million hectares of land were irrigated.

Of the more than 150 kinds of minerals found on earth, 121 are available in Henan, of which, the reserves of 78 kinds have been made clear; 61 kinds have been mined and utilized. In term of reservation, 48 kinds of Henan’s minerals are listed among the top 10 of the country, of which molybdenum, blue asbestos, grit stone, natural alkali, pearlite, sapper and andalusite are listed as No. I, and bauxite, natural hone, and limestone for producing cement are assessed as No. 2. Other minerals like wolfram, cesium, coal, petroleum, natural gas, nickel, gold and marble also lead the nation in reserve.

Henan has 197 families and 3,830 species of higher plants, and 418 kinds of animals. It’s an important producer of the country’s wheat, corn, cotton, tobacco leaves and oil plants.

Tourist Resources

As one of the major birthplaces of the Chinese civilization, Henan has several epoch-making archeological discoveries, including the Peiligang Culture Site dating back 7,000 years, Yanshao Culture Site of some 6,000 years ago, and Dahe Culture Site of more than 5,000 years ago. In ancient China, more than 20 dynasties established their capitals in Henan. Three of China’s seven great ancient capitals are located in Henan: Anyang of the Shang Dynasty, Luoyang of nine dynasties and Kaifeng of seven dynasties. Three of ancient China’s four great inventions, the compass, paper-making and gunpowder, were made in Henan. The province numbers first in the whole country in terms of underground cultural relics, and the second in existing cultural relics on the ground. The Yellow River, with numerous ancient relics and scenic attractions, also provides a rich tourist resource to Henan.

Energy:

A major coal production base of China, Henan has 65 colliery enterprises, which produce 100 million tons of coal a year, making Henan rank the second in the country. Henan is one of the three thermal power bases in the country. Up to the end of 2000, it had an installed generating capacity of 14.77 million kwh, ranking the 6th among all provinces, and its total annual electricity generation of 65.8 billion kwh won it the position of the 5th in the country. The key water-conservative project at Xiaolangdi on the Yellow River, built with a loan from the World Bank, has a total installed capacity of 1.8 million kw. It is expected to generate 5.1 billion kwh of electricity annually after its completion. With considerable reserves of petroleum and natural gas, Henan Province possesses Zhongyuan Oil Fields and Henan Oil Fields, which produced 5.62 million tons of crude oil and 1.495 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2000. It is the 5th largest petroleum and natural gas producer in China.

Environment and current issues:

Thirteen of Henan’s cities have met the national hygiene standard. Major enterprises causing industrial pollution in the Yellow and Huaihe rivers have basically reached the standard for polluted water discharge control. Nineteen nature reserves have been established on 1.36 percent of the province’s land. The forest coverage rate in Henan is 19.83 percent, and 92 counties in the plain and semi-plain areas have reached the afforestation standard, making Henan No. I in the nation in this respect.