Why Henan

Henan (Chinese: 河南) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (中州) which literally means "central plain land" or "midland", although the name is also applied to the entirety of China proper.
 

Geography

Henan Province is located on the southern lower reaches of the Huanghe River (Yellow River). It served as the capital of 200 empires during its history of more than 20 dynasties, leaving behind over 1.3 million relics. Henan Province has seven state-level historical and cultural cities, and Luoyang, Kaifeng, and Anyang are among China's Seven Ancient Capitals.
Henan Province lies in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. It covers an area of over 167,000 square kilometres and has a population of 98.20 million (2006), consisting of the nationalities of Han, Hui, Mongolian and Manchu. Zhengzhou is the capital city of Henan Province.
 

Climate

This province has a temperate climate with distinctive four seasons. The climate changes are fairly accurately represented by the twenty-four solar terms on the Chinese lunar calendar. The annual temperature averages between 12ºC and 16ºC (53.6 ºF and 60.8 ºF) , with the minimum temperature being -3ºC to 3ºC (26.6 ºF to 37.4 ºF) in January and the maximum temperature being 24ºC to 29ºC (75.2 ºF and 84.2ºF) in July. Generally, the southern and eastern parts of the province have warmer climate than the western and northern parts of the province. Average annual rainfall is between 500mm and 900mm, while heavy rains, often torrential downpours, occur in July, August and September.

History

Henan is one of the cradles of Chinese nation. There is a site of the remains of the Yangshao Culture, which dates back to the late period of the Neolithic Age, in the Yangshao village, Mianchu County. A historical site of some piles-up remains of the Xiaotun Culture, the Longshan Culture and the Yangshao Culture has also been unearthed in Anyang County. In Dahe village Zhengzhou, people have found the remains mainly of the 5,000 year old Yangshao and Longshan Cultures in another site of the Neolithic Age. Henan was the political, cultural and economic centre of China in ancient times.
Anyang, Luoyang  and Kaifeng were capitals of different imperial dynasties. Agricultural production began in Henan more than four thousand years ago. The Yin Dynasty ruins in Anyang, the historical site of the Shang Dynasty city in Zhengzhou, the Longmen Grottos in Luoyang, one thousand year old Iron Pagoda in Kaifeng, the Shaolin Temple and the Zhongyue Temple at the Songshan Mountain, and the Song Dynasty tomb in Gongxian County from an important part of China's splendid culture.

Population and Nationalities

With a population of approximately 93.6 million, Henan is the third most populous Chinese province after Guangdong and Shandong. It is also 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, just behind Mexico and ahead of the Philippines. However, 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 currently reside in. On the other hand, Guangdong is shown as having only 81 million people, though the actual population is 95 million due to the influx of migrants from other provinces.
 
The population is highly homogeneous with 98.8% of the population being Han. Small populations of Mongols and Manchus exists in scattered rural communities as well as major urban centers. Along with Jiangxi, Henan has one of the most unbalanced gender ratios in China. As a result of the Chinese government's one-child policy (many parents do not want the only child to be female and abort the fetus), the gender ratio was 118.46 males for 100 females in 2000. Subsequently, aborting fetuses due to their female sex was banned in Henan and heavy fines are issued for those who violate the law. In addition, daughter-only families receive an annual allowance from the government. Despite these efforts the problem seems to have become far worse. Based on a 2009 British Medical Journal study, the ratio is over 140 boys for every 100 girls in the 1–4 age group; this might be a strong exaggeration, as many families with more than one child do not register their daughters to the hukou in order to escape fines.
 

Economy

Henan has seen rapid development in its economy over the past two decades, and its economy has expanded at an even faster rate than the national average of 10%. This rapid growth has transformed Henan from one of the poorest provinces to one that matches other central provinces, though still relatively impoverished on a national scale. In 2011, Henan's nominal GDP was 3.20 trillion RMB (US$427 billion), making it the fifth largest economy in China, although it ranks nineteenth in terms of GDP per capita.