Hebi ( zh, s=, t=, p=Hèbì ; postal: Hopi) is a

prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province of China, province and above a Counties of the People's Republic of China, county in China's ...

in northern

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

, China. Situated in mountainous terrain at the edge of the

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

plateau, Hebi is about south of

Anyang Anyang ( zh, s=安阳, t=安陽; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan, China. Geographical coordinates are 35° 41'~ 36° 21' north latitude and 113° 38'~ 114° 59' east longitude. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the eas ...

, northeast of

Xinxiang Xinxiang ( zh, s= , t= , p=Xīnxiāng ; Postal romanization, postal: Sinsiang) is a prefecture-level city in northern Henan provinces of China, province, China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to its southwest, Kaifeng to its sou ...

and north of

Kaifeng Kaifeng ( zh, s=开封, p=Kāifēng) is a prefecture-level city in east-Zhongyuan, central Henan province, China. It is one of the Historical capitals of China, Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,565,973 inhabitants and in the 2018 estimate 574,000 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of Qibin District and Qi County largely conurbated. One can notice that Shancheng District and Heshan District are for the moment, part of another built-up area of 372,600 inhabitants close to

. Hebi has several coal mines. The city is also home to Hebi New Area, an economic development zone.

Administration

The

of Hebi administers 3

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

and 2

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

. * Qibin District () * Shancheng District () * Heshan District () *

Xun County Xun County or Xunxian () is a county in the north of Henan province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Hebi and located on the transition of the East China Plain and the Taihang Mountains. Xun County has a his ...

() * Qi County ()

Climate

History

The name of "Hebi" first appears in book "''

History of Jin The ''History of Jin'' (''Jin Shi'') is a Chinese historical text, one of the '' Twenty Four Histories'', which details the history of the Jin dynasty founded by the Jurchens in northern China. It was compiled by the Yuan dynasty historian and ...

''". It is believed that during ancient times, cranes would rest on the cliffs of the southern mountains. The southern mountain was then named 鹤山(HeShan), where 鹤 means crane. The village near the southern mountain was then named 鹤壁 (Hebi), which literally translates to "Cranes resting on cliffs").

Relocation of the Urban Area of Hebi

The urban area of Hebi has undergone three relocations. In 1957, the urban area was selected to be in Hebiji. With the construction of the mine #2 and mine #3, the urban area moved south to what is now known as Zhongshan District in December 1957. Later in 1959, the urban area changed from Zhongshan District to another district that is known as Dahu. However, the surrounding areas of the urban area became mostly subsidence areas, restricting further development of the city. Therefore, in 1992, Hebi government established Qibin Economic Development Zone at the junction of Qi County, Junxian County in the southeast. As the scale of the Qibin Economic Development Zone expands, the political center of the city also moved to Qibin District in May 1999. Qibin District is now the new political, economic center of Hebi City.

References

External links

Government website of Hebi
(in Simplified Chinese) {{authority control Cities in Henan Prefecture-level divisions of Henan