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.