For thousands of years, Chen (now at
Huaiyang) had been the center of this area and a nationally well-known city. The ancient city site founded at
Pingliangtai (near Huaiyang) is over 4600 years old, which is one of the oldest cities in China. According to the legend,
Fu Xi, the first of the
Three Sovereigns of ancient China, died in the city. During the
Spring and Autumn period, Chen was the capital of
Chen State and then annexed by
Chu. Therefore, the area was usually referred to as "Chen Chu" in ancient times. The leaders of the first Chinese peasant uprising (the
Dazexiang uprising) established the government at Chen. The city's name "Zhoukou" is short for "Zhoujiakou", which literally means "
Zhou's ferry". Located at the intersection of
Jialu River and
Shaying River, it started to develop as a river harbor of China's Inland Water Transport System in the early
Ming dynasty. By the end of the 18th century, two towns along the rivers merged into one big town with several tens of thousand permanent residents. From the port, cargo could either be shipped south to the
Yangtze River or north to the
Yellow River. However, after the "
sea ban" was canceled, sea transport began to play a major role on the trade between
Jiangnan and North China, which diminished the utility of inland waterways. The cost of maintaining the river channels kept increasing because of the ever-rising river bed. The appearance of railways and modern roads in the early 20th century lead to a recession in the water transport business nearby. Finally, in the 1970s, a dam was built on the Shaying River, which cut the city's last waterway. In 2000, the government of the Zhoukou prefecture-level city was founded. The old county-level city and its suburban area became
Chuanhui District. In 2004, Zhoukou City was recognized as the only prefecture-level
"Hometown of Chinese Acrobatics" in the country. On January 22, 2020, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development named Zhoukou City a National Garden City. On May 18, 2020, Zhoukou City was awarded the title of
"Civilized City of Henan Province". On October 20 of the same year, it was selected as a
"National Model City for Supporting Military Service". In 2021, Zhoukou Port was listed as one of the 36 national-level major inland ports. In June 2023, Zhoukou City was granted the title of
"Hometown of Chinese Literature" in China. ==Economy==