Yexian county

On Sept 29, 2007, Yexian county was named the Capital of China’s Rock Salt by the China Mining Association, becoming one of the nine minerals capitals in China. The county is also known as a commodity grain production base and one of the top 10 ancient towns of Henan province. Located in the southwest corner of central Henan, Yexian is adjacent to the Huanghuai Plain and Funiu Mountains. With a gross area of 1,389 square kilometers, it administers 19 towns and townships. The total population is 860,000.

Yexian, once known as Kunyang was a part of the Yinghou Kingdom during the Zhou Dynasty, and a part of the Chu Kingdom during in Spring and Autumn Period. The famous Kunyang Battle, in which a few people defeated many, took place in the county. Confucius, Huang Tingjian and Li Bai served as officials or visited the county, leaving behind literary works.

Yexian county is home to more than 30 historical relics, such as the sites of Yangshao Culture, ancient towns of the Qin and Han dynasties and Kunyang Battlefield. It has two cultural relics under national protection, the county seat of the Ming Dynasty and Yeyi Ancient Town. It has four cultural relics under provincial protection, and more than 50 cultural relics under city and county protection. About 2,100 precious cultural relics are preserved in museums.

Yexian directly benefits from Pingdingshan for economic, trade and information communications. It has rich mineral resources such as rock salt, iron, coal, marble and graphite. Rock salt covers an area of 400 square kilometers, totaling 230 billion tons in reserves, to make the county the second -rgest inland salt base in the country. The salts are more than 90 percent sodium chloride.

Yexian has rich water resources, with 492 million cubic meters of surface water and groundwater. It has six big rivers, one big reservoir, and 30 small and medium-sized reservoirs. Yanshan Reservoir, a key water conservation project in the country, is under construction. The midcourt line of the project to divert water from the south to the north passes through the county.

The county has convenient transportation conditions, with a traffic network extending in all directions.

Yexian has rich tourism resources to tap. The main scenic spots and historical sites are the Site of Yegong Asking Government to Confucius, Site of Zilu Making Inquiies, Yegong Mausoleum, County Government Office of Ming Dynasty, Confucius Temple, Cuihua Bridge and Kunyang Ancient Battlefield. The natural landscapes include Gushitan Reservoir, Wangfushi Mountain, Shimen Mountain and Wencun Island.

Xinhua district

Xinhua district, located in the central and western parts of Pingdingshan, is the political, economic, cultural and trade center of the city. It has an area of 157 square kilometers and a population of 360,000.

Xinhua district, an ancient city, witnessed princes vying for supremacy, fighting for hegemony in the central plain area, and the mighty Chu Kingdom annexing the weak Ying Kingdom. Since its days as the capital city of the Ying Kingdom, Xinhua district has boasted rich tourism resources. It has yet to develop many tourism projects. The Western Zhou Noble Tombs, one of the top 10 archaeological discoveries in the country in 1996, are situated at Zhiyang town. An unearthed jade eagle is listed as a state-level cultural relic. Pingdingshan is known as the city of the eagle.

Fragrant Hill Temple, a 1,000-year-old temple in the district, is a favorite of tourists from China and abroad. Zhiyang an aquaculture base known as South Yangtze in the Central Plain area, yields thousand of tons of fish annually, and has developed into a center of tourism, entertainment and leisure vacations. The famous Zhiyang gongs are located in Xinhua district.

Xinhua district has established six pillar industries in the electronics and electrical, insulation products, new materials, fine chemical engineering, coal mining and coking, and industrial and mineral appliances sectors. It has established three major industrial parks: a development zone industrial park, private-sector innovation park and cycling economy industrial park. The parks are home to 50 high-tech companies that have 100 patents and 1,650 professional technicians. These companies include Shenguang Medical Appliances Co Ltd, New Refractory Co Ltd, Triguaiacyl Carbon Co Lt., Kangli Electrical Appliances Co Ltd, Tianying Intelligence Co Ltd, Sinovel Electric Co Ltd, Lianli Electric C. Ltd, Feiyu Electric Co Ltd and Insulation Products Co Ltd.

The district is developing a high-efficiency agriculture sector. It has cultivated an agricultural industrial zone featuring aquiculture, livestock farming, fruit and vegetable plantations, and agricultural and sideline products deep processing. It has built up an aquaculture base centering on the Beizhi, Dongzhi and Xizhi fisheries, and a livestock breeding base centering on the Hezhuang and Guozhuang pig farms. The district is also home to the Jizhuang chicken farm, and a fruit plantation base for Jiaozhuang Yard, Yeyng Yard, Xiangshan Yard and Hezhuang Orchard.

The district has a flourishing catering and trade services market, and includes the modern service industries of tourism, culture, education and real estate. It has developed and constructed Shuangfeng Mall, Eagle City Square, Jiatian International Hotel, the Jianxi auto service center, Mediterranean Holiday Hotel and Sanmao Advanced Entertainment Center. It has established cultural and education institutions such as the Yellow River Foreign Language School and Oriental Baby Care Children’s Home and Kindergarten.

The district is planning to build a commercial center with Zhongxing Road as the axis, a trade service circle centering on the district’s Eagle Square and Pingxi Ecological Zone, and a warehouse logistics park on Chengping Road.