Huangchuan County

Huangchuan County 潢川县
County
Huangchuan Location in Henan
Coordinates:
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Henan
Prefecture	Xinyang
Settled	c. 21st century BC
- Yiyang County	206 BC
- Guangzhou	712 AD
- Huangchuan	1913 AD
Government
• Secretary	vacancy (CPC)
• Magistrate	Zhao Liang
Area
• County	1,661.1 km2 (641.4 sq mi)
• Water	107 km2 (41 sq mi)
• Metro	33.4 km2 (12.9 sq mi)
Dimensions
• Length	53 km (33 mi)
• Width	44.5 km (27.7 mi)
Elevation	45 m (148 ft)
Highest elevation	330 m (1,080 ft)
Lowest elevation	30 m (100 ft)
Population (2009)
• County	838,000
• Density	500/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
• Metro	280,000
• Metro density	8,400/km2 (22,000/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal code	465150
Area code(s)	376
ISO 3166 code	CN-41-11-25
Licence plate prefix	豫S3
Website	www.huangchuan.gov.cn

Huangchuan County (simplified Chinese: 潢川县; traditional Chinese: 潢川縣; pinyin: Huángchuān Xiàn; local pronunciation: Huāngchuǎn Xiàn) is a county of southeastern Henan province, People's Republic of China. It is located in the center of Xinyang City, straddling the Huang River. That is why it is named Huangchuan, meaning where Huang River flows.

History

Origin and early development

According to the ancient Chinese text Bamboo Annals, Huangchuan was the capital of the Huang state in the Xia dynasty, in the 21st century BCE. During the beginning of the Zhou dynasty, the Huang state was founded by King Huang Huilian, of which his name Huang is considered to be the root origin of the ancient Chinese surname Huang (or Hwang). The Huang state was later annexed by the Chu state and became a vassal state under the Zhou dynasty in 648 BCE, during the Spring and Autumn period.

Remains of the capital of the Huang state were discovered in Longgu, a township six kilometers northwest to the urban area of Huangchuan.

Empire period

After the Qin dynasty. Huangchuan was generally established as a zhou, a commandery or a county.

According to Brief Sketch of North Parts of Ming Dynasty (Chinese: 明季北略), a book by Ji Liuqi (计六奇) recording the transitional period from the Ming dynasty to the Qing dynasty, Huangchuan (then Guangzhou) was devastated and the residents massacred by the peasant army. And now residents in Huangchuan are mainly descendants of migrants from Jiangxi, Fujian and Guangdong settled down during the Kangxi era in the Qing dynasty.

Republic period

In 1913, Huangchuan was renamed to its current name.

In 2009, Huang-Guang Integration project was launched aiming to integrate Huangchuan County and neighboring Guangshan County.

Former names

• traditional Chinese: 黃國; simplified Chinese: 黄国; pinyin: Huángguó
• traditional Chinese: 弋陽; simplified Chinese: 弋阳; pinyin: Yìyáng
• Chinese: 定城; pinyin: Dìngchéng
• Chinese: 光州; pinyin: Guāngzhōu

Geography

Huangchuan borders the Huai River in the north, which is regarded as part of the geographical dividing line between North China and South China.

Huang River, a tributary of Huai River, is pronounced the same as Yellow River yet with different characters. Local residents usually call it Little Huang River (pinyin: Xiǎo Huáng Hé).

The annual mean temperature is 15.3 °C (59.5 °F) and precipitation averages 1,039 millimetres (40.9 in).

Administrative Divisions

Huangchuan County currently has 4 subdistricts, 9 towns and 8 townships. The county was reorganized in 2005, when the townships of Xiaoludian (小吕店乡) and Pengjiadian (彭家店乡), and the town of Niugang (牛岗镇) were assimilated into neighboring towns and townships.

Subdistricts (街道)

• Chunshen Subdistrict (春申街道)
• Dingcheng Subdistrict (定城街道)
• Yiyang Subdistrict (弋阳街道)
• Laocheng Subdistrict (老城街道)

Towns (镇)

• Shuangliushu (双柳树镇)
• Sanpisi (伞陂寺镇)
• Butaji (卜塔集镇)
• Renhe (仁和镇)
• Fudian (傅店镇)
• Xuezi (踅孜镇)
• Taolinpu (桃林铺镇)
• Huangsigang (黄寺岗镇)
• Jiangjiaji (江家集镇)

Townships (乡)

• Chuanliudian Township (传流店乡)
• Weigang Township (魏岗乡)
• Zhangji Township (张集乡)
• Lailong Township (来龙乡)
• Longgu Township (隆古乡)
• Tandian Township (谈店乡)
• Shangyougang Township (上油岗乡)
• Baidian Township (白店乡)

Transport

• China National Highway 106 (G106)
• China National Highway 312 (G312)
• G40 Shanghai–Xi'an Expressway
• G45 Daqing–Guangzhou Expressway