Zhengzhou

As the capital city of Henan Province, Zhengzhou sits on the southern bank of the Yellow River and is one of the Eight Great Ancient Capitals of China. The name Zhengzhou comes from a city in the Sui Dynasty, but its actual location was in modern day Chenggao. During the Tang Dynasty, the name switched here. The area remained unimportant until it was selected for development by the Chinese Government after 1949.
 
A prefecture-level city, Zhengzhou also serves as the political, economic, technological, and educational centre of the province, as well as a major transportation hub and rapidly growing metropolis in China for its Strategical location in the north-central of the country. Greater Zhengzhou was named as one of the 13 emerging megacities or megalopolises in China in a July 2012 report by the Economist Intelligence Unit. To travelers, Zhengzhou is a convenient start point to explore a series of Chinese cultural sites, like Kaifeng, Luoyang and Shaolin temple.