Xinxiang

During the period of Yao and Shun, China was divided into nine prefectures, and the city's territory belonged to Jizhou, Yanzhou and Yuzhou. At the end of the Xia Dynasty, Shang Tang attacked Xia Jie, and the Battle of Mingtiao took place between Fengqiu County and Changyuan County, resulting in the defeat of Jie and the death of Xia. Xinxiang was the site of the Battle of Muye, where the Shang dynasty was overthrown by the armies of King Wu of Zhou. The region was first named Xinxiang in the 6th year of the Kaihuang era (586 AD) of the Sui dynasty, when Xinxiang county was established in the territories of southwestern and eastern Huojia County. In 960 AD, Later Zhou forces loyal to Zhao Kuangyin mutinied against the rule of Guo Zongxun at , located in modern-day Fengqiu County, and declared Zhao emperor, marking the beginning of the Song dynasty. Xinxiang served as the capital of the short-lived Pingyuan Province, which administered the neighboring cities of Anyang, Hebi, Puyang, Jiaozuo and Heze between 1949 and 1952. In July 2021, Xinxiang was harshly impacted by the flooding in Henan, which affected about 470,000 people and over of cropland. == Geography ==

Climate Geographic location Xinxiang is located in the northern part of Henan Province, between 113 degrees 23 minutes and 114 degrees 59 minutes east longitude and 34 degrees 53 minutes and 35 degrees 50 minutes north latitude. It is 600 kilometers away from the capital Beijing and 80 kilometers away from the provincial capital Zhengzhou. It is connected to the oil city Puyang in the east and to the west of Luxi. Bordering the Yellow River to the south, it is separated from Zhengzhou and Kaifeng by the river; to the west, it is connected to Jiaozuo and shares a border with Shanxi. To the north, it relies on the Taihang and is adjacent to Hebi and Anyang. Pollution According to a 2015 report by Greenpeace, Henan (Xinxiang's province) has the most severe air pollution of all the provinces in China, with an average PM2.5 concentration of 103.3 μg/m3 (micrograms per cubic meter). The report found that Xinxiang has the 13th most polluted city air in China, with a PM2.5 concentration of 114.6 μg/m3 (over 11 times the safe limit established by the WHO) during the first quarter of 2015. Swiss firm IQAir reported that Xinxiang suffered from an average PM2.5 concentration of 51.5 μg/m3 in 2020, ranking 31st in China, and 89th in the world. In 2015, environmental non-governmental organization Airman () purchased wheat samples farmed in the town of Wangcun, in Xinxiang, near a battery factory, and found it had cadmium levels up to 17 times the national safe limit. The following year, the group again purchased wheat samples in the towns of and Wangcun, and found cadmium levels up to 34.1 times the national safe limit. Following this report, the Xinxiang municipal government launched a program to purchase contaminated wheat, and convert the farmland to other purposes. == Religion ==

Xinxiang Roman Catholics are served by the Apostolic Prefecture of Xinxiang (), which was established on July 7, 1936, on missionary territory split off from the then Apostolic Vicariate of Weihuifu () (now Diocese of Jixian). It is a pre-diocesan jurisdiction, which is exempt (i.e., directly subject to the Holy See and its missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples), and not part of any ecclesiastical province. It has had the following incumbent Apostolic Prefects of Xinxiang (Roman Rite) : • Father Thomas Megan (), Divine Word Missionaries S.V.D.) (born USA) (1936.07.07 – retired 1948), died 1951 • Fr. Johannes Schütte (), S.V.D. (born Germany) (1948 – death 1971.11.18), also Superior General of Society of the Divine Word (Divine Word Missionaries) (1958.03.28 – 1967.12.15) and Vice-Secretary of Pontifical Commission of Justice and Peace (1968–1971.11.18) • Joseph Zhang Wei-zhu () (first Chinese and secular priest) (1992, with clandestine episcopal consecration) == Military ==

Xinxiang is the headquarters of the 83rd Group Army of the People's Liberation Army, one of the three group armies that comprise the Jinan Military Region responsible for the defense of the Yellow River plain. == Administration ==

, 1955) The prefecture-level city administers 4 districts, 3 county-level cities and 5 counties. • District: • Hongqi District • Weibin District • Muye District • Fengquan District • County-level city: • Huixian City • Weihui City • Changyuan City • County: • Xinxiang County • Huojia County • Yuanyang County • Yanjin County • Fengqiu County == Population ==

By the end of 2022, the city's permanent population was 6.166 million, including 3.639 million urban residents and 2.527 million rural residents; The urbanization rate of permanent residents was 59.01%, an increase of 0.62 percentage points over the end of the previous year. 43,000 people were born, with a birth rate of 6.90 per thousand. 46,000 people died, with a mortality rate of 7.40 per thousand. The natural decrease of population was 0.3 million, and the natural growth rate was -0.5%. According to the seventh National Census in 2020, as of 0:00 on November 1, 2020, the city's permanent population was 6,251,929. Among them, male population accounted for 50.23%; The female population is 49.77%. The sex ratio of the total population (100 females) was 100.91. The population aged 0–14 accounted for 23.17%; The population aged 15–59 accounted for 59.15%; 17.68% of the population was 60 years of age or older, of which 13.04% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100,000 population, 11,743 people had a university degree (college or above); The population with high school (including technical secondary school) education was 20163; 37,885 people with secondary education; The population with a primary education level is 20,994 (the above levels of education include graduates, associates and students of all types of schools). Surnames from Xinxiang are: Major (including Gong, Hong, Gong, Duan) Zuo, Ning, Yan, etc. == Economy ==

Frestech, a major home appliance company, was located in Xinxiang prior to its liquidation in 2018. One of the business units spun off in Frestech's dissolution, Xinfei Electric Group, continues to operate in Xinxiang. Xinfei Electric Group, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corporation of China, produces refrigerated trucks, military vehicles, RVs, modular building structures, precision equipment, refrigerators, air conditioners, and environmental control equipment. Agriculture and textiles Textiles and processed food are also major products of Xinxiang. As an old textiles base, the cotton industry is very developed in Xinxiang. == Transport ==

Xinxiang serves as a rail junction and industrial center at the head of navigation on the Wei River. The Wei River, made navigable for small vessels by river improvements in the 1950s, links the city with Tianjin. Railways Xinxiang is located at the junction of the Beijing-Guangzhou, Xinxiang-Yueshan, Xinxiang-Yanzhou, and Zhengzhou–Jinan Railways. The Xinxiang metro area has two major railway stations: Xinxiang Railway Station in Weibin and Xinxiang East Railway Station in Muye. Expressways • G4 Beijing–Hong Kong and Macau Expressway • G3511 Heze–Baoji Expressway • G5512 Jincheng–Xinxiang Expressway National highways • China National Highway 107 == Education and research ==

Xinxiang is a major city for research, ranking as the 138th city in the world by scientific research outputs as of 2025, as tracked by the Nature Index. There are several universities and colleges located in the prefecture-level city. • Henan Normal University • : newly combined university located in the eastern part of Xinxiang, it has 21 faculties and 3 centers • Henan Institute of Science and Technology • Xinxiang Medical University • Henan Mechanical and Electrical Engineering College • Xinxiang Hygiene School == Sister cities ==

• Itajaí, Santa Catarina, Brazil • Kashiwara, Osaka, Japan == See also ==

• Government website of Xinxiang • GCatholic - apostolic prefecture • Window on Xinxiang • Xinxiang University