Xinxiang ( ;
postal: Sinsiang) is a
prefecture-level city
A prefectural-level municipality (), prefectural-level city or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China
China (), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC; ), is a country in East Asia. It ...
in northern
Henan
Henan (; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China
The provincial level administrative divisions () are the highest-level administrative divisions of China. There are 34 such divisions claimed by the People's Republic of ...

province
A province is almost always an administrative division
Administrative division, administrative unitArticle 3(1). , country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, first-level subdivision, as well as many similar terms, are g ...
, China.
It borders the provincial capital of
Zhengzhou
Zhengzhou (; ), also spelt Zheng Zhou and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Chengchow, is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Henan, Henan Province in the Central China, central part of the China, People's ...

to its southwest,
Kaifeng
Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Historical capitals of China, Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital seven times in history, and is best known for being the Chinese ...

to its southeast,
Hebi
Hebi ( ; postal: Hopi) is a prefecture-level city
A prefectural-level municipality (), prefectural-level city or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China
China (), officially the People's Re ...

and
Anyang
Anyang (; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan province of China, province, China. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the east, Hebi and Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei to its west and north resp ...

to its north,
Jiaozuo
Jiaozuo ( ; postal: Tsiaotso) is a prefecture-level city
A prefectural-level municipality (), prefectural-level city or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China
China (), officially the Peopl ...

to its west, and the provinces of
Shanxi
Shanxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is ...

and
Shandong
Shandong (; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province
A province is almost always an administrative division
Administrative division, administrative unitArticle 3(1). , country subdivision, administrative region, subn ...

to its northwest and east respectively.
Its total population was 6,251,929 as of the
2020 Chinese Census
The Seventh National Population Census of the People's Republic of China (), also referred to as the 2020 Chinese Census, was the seventh National Population Census of the People's Republic of China, national census conducted by the National Bure ...
. As of the 2010 census, 2,596,759 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of 4 urban districts (''
Weibin,
Hongqi Hongqi (, Chinese for "Red Flag") may refer to:
* ''Hongqi'' (magazine), published by the Chinese Communist Party from 1958 to 1988
*Hongqi (automobile)
Hongqi () is a Chinese luxury car marque owned by the automaker FAW Car Company, itself a subs ...
,
Muye
Muye District () is a district of the city of Xinxiang, Henan province, China.
History
The BC Battle of Muye ended Shang dynasty, Shang hegemony over the Wei River, Wei and Yellow Rivers and established the state of Zhou dynasty, Zhou.
Administr ...
,
Fenquan''), Yanjin County, Henan, Yanjin county, Xinxiang county and Huixian, Huixian City which are now being conurbated as the city is expanding very quickly.
History
Xinxiang was site of the Battle of Muye where the Shang Dynasty was overthrown by the Zhou. Xinxiang dates from the Sui dynasty (581-618) and was a small market center before being developed as an industrial center in the 1950s. It also served as the capital of the short-lived Pingyuan Province, which covered neighbouring cities -
Anyang
Anyang (; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan province of China, province, China. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the east, Hebi and Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei to its west and north resp ...

,
Hebi
Hebi ( ; postal: Hopi) is a prefecture-level city
A prefectural-level municipality (), prefectural-level city or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China
China (), officially the People's Re ...

, Puyang,
Jiaozuo
Jiaozuo ( ; postal: Tsiaotso) is a prefecture-level city
A prefectural-level municipality (), prefectural-level city or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China
China (), officially the Peopl ...

and Heze, between 1949 and 1952, for the purpose of exterminating Nationalist guerillas.
In July 2021, Xinxiang was harshly impacted by the 2021 Henan floods, flooding in Henan, which affected about 470,000 people and over of cropland.
Geography
Climate
Pollution
According to a 2015 report by Greenpeace,
Henan
Henan (; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China
The provincial level administrative divisions () are the highest-level administrative divisions of China. There are 34 such divisions claimed by the People's Republic of ...

(Xinxiang's province) has the most severe air pollution of all the provinces in China, with an average Particulates#Size, shape and solubility matter, PM2.5 concentration of 103.3 μg/m3 (micrograms per cubic metre, 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 World Health Organization, 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, Xinxiang, 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.
However, again in 2017, the group purchased additional wheat samples, and found them to have cadmium levels up to 18 times the national limit, with all samples purchased exceeding national safety limits.
In response, government officials from the Towns of China, town of Dakuai met with the group, and pledged to further investigate the samples and stop growing wheat on contaminated farmland.
Religion
Xinjiang 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 Weihui, 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 defence of the Yellow River plain.
Administration

The
prefecture-level city
A prefectural-level municipality (), prefectural-level city or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China
China (), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC; ), is a country in East Asia. It ...
administers 4 district of China, districts, 3 county-level city, county-level cities and 5 County (People's Republic of China), counties.
*District:
**Weibin District, Xinxiang, Weibin District ()
**Hongqi District ()
**Muye District ()
**Fengquan District ()
*County-level city:
**Huixian City ()
**Weihui City ()
**Changyuan City ()
*County:
**Xinxiang County ()
**Huojia County ()
**Yuanyang County, Henan, Yuanyang County ()
**Yanjin County, Henan, Yanjin County ()
**Fengqiu County ()
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 subsidy of Aviation Industry Corporation of China, produces Refrigerator truck, refrigerated trucks, military vehicles, Recreational vehicle, RVs, modular building structures, precision equipment, refrigerators, air conditioners, and environmental control equipment.
Other important enterprises located in Xinxiang include Golden Dragon Copper Group, Bailu Chemical Fibre, Henan Kelong Group, and AVIC XINHANG Industry Corporation.
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

The city is a rail junction and industrial centre at the head of navigation on the Wei River (Shandong and Henan), Wei River. The river, made navigable for small vessels by river improvements in the 1950s, links the city with Tianjin, the main port for Beijing. Later, due to heavy industrial chemical pollution, the river course had been totally cut off and got filled up. After recent dredges, it is still no more than a man-made lake.
Rail
Xinxiang is located at the junction of the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, Beijing-Guangzhou, Xinxiang-Yueshan Railway, Xinxiang-Yueshan and the Xinxiang-Yanzhou Railway, Xinxiang-Yanzhou Railways.
Xinxiang has two railway stations: Xinxiang railway station, Xinxiang Railway Station and Xinxiang East railway station, Xinxiang East Railway Station.
Education
There are several universities and colleges located in the
prefecture-level city
A prefectural-level municipality (), prefectural-level city or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China
China (), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC; ), is a country in East Asia. It ...
.
*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 city
* Kashiwara, Osaka, Kashiwara, Osaka Prefecture, Osaka, Japan
See also
* History of the political divisions of China
* List of Catholic dioceses in China
* List of twin towns and sister cities in China
* Pollution in China#Air pollution, Air pollution in China
* Pollution in China#Soil contamination, Soil contamination in China
References
Sources and external links
Government website of Xinxiang
Window on Xinxiang
Xinxiang University
{{authority control
Xinxiang,
Populated places established in the 1st millennium
Cities in Henan
Contaminated farmland
Prefecture-level divisions of Henan
National Forest Cities in China