Nanyang, Henan

Nanyang is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Henan province, China. The city with the largest administrative area in Henan, Nanyang borders Xinyang to the southeast, Zhumadian to the east, Pingdingshan to the northeast, Luoyang to the north, Sanmenxia to the northwest, the province of Shaanxi to the west, and the province of Hubei to the south.

Dinosaur egg fossils have been discovered in the Nanyang Basin.

The 35,000 capacity Nanyang Sports Centre Stadium is the main (football) venue in the city.

Names
In the name "Nanyang", Nan means south, and Yang (/陽) means sun&mdash;the south side of a mountain, or the north side of a river, in Chinese is called Yang. The name came from Nanyang Commandery, a commandery established in the region during the Warring States period. Before the name "Nanyang" became associated with the city itself, it was referred to as "Wan".

History
550,000 years ago, Nanzhao Man inhabited near Xinghuashan, Nanzhao. Between 5,000 BCE and 3,000 BCE, a substantial Neolithic settlement thrived in Huangshan, situated north of Nanyang. Excavations of the Huangshan ruins have uncovered remnants of jade workshops, high-level tombs, wharves, and granaries. The Huangshan Archeological Site provided insight into the formation of Chinese civilization. Nanyang was the capital of the state of Shen in the first millennium BCE. It became commercially important under the Han dynasty, as it had many iron foundries and other manufacturing sites, and also fell at the convergence of routes between major cities. It's an important city of the Silk Road. Emperor Gengshi's enthronement took place on the banks of the Bai River in Nanyang. Later, with the help of the 28 generals of the Cloud Terrace and the financial support of Nanyang, Liu Xiu successfully ascended to power and established the Eastern Han Dynasty. Nanyang became the southern capital, ranking as the second largest city after Luoyang, the capital. During that time, Nanyang was home to numerous influential families. Nanyang subsequently declined somewhat in importance, but remained a political and cultural center of southwestern Henan province and a hub for trade.

Geography
Nanyang is located in southwestern Henan, bordering Hubei (Xiangyang, Shiyan, and Suizhou) to the south, Shaanxi (Shangluo) to the west and the following prefecture-level cities in Henan:


 * Zhumadian (E)
 * Xinyang (SE)
 * Sanmenxia (NW)
 * Luoyang (N)
 * Pingdingshan (NE)

The latitude of the entire prefecture ranges from 32° 17' to 33° 48' N, while the longitude ranges from 110° 58' to 113° 49' E, and the prefecture spans 26600 km2. The city lies within the Nanyang Basin, which is part of a region in Central China that lies in the gap between the eastern end of the Qin Mountains and the source of the Huai River. Thus, using those two geographic features as the standard dividing line, it is difficult to classify the city into northern or southern China.

To the north of Nanyang city proper, there is a mountain called Mount Du, which is famous for the Dushan jade, one of the four famous jades of China, now a rarity. To the southwest is Neixiang County with the newly developing Baotianman Biosphere Reserve&mdash;an area of high biodiversity, with 65 rare and endangered species.



Climate
The climate is generally moderate and is a four-season humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa), with strong monsoon influences: winters are cool but dry, and summers are hot and humid. Spring and autumn provide transitions of reasonable length. The monthly daily average temperature in January is 1.6 °C and in July it is 27.0 °C; the annual mean is 15.2 °C. More than half the annual rainfall occurs from June to August.

Demographics
The whole city area has a population over 10.26 million, which is the twelfth prefecture-level city in China now. The built-up area has over 1.8 million people, which is the fifth largest city in Henan Province. About 1 million commute from the city, mainly to Zhengzhou, Guangdong province, Beijing and Shanghai. The majority of the province is Han; among the minority nationalities are the Hui people and Man people.

Population
As of the 2020 Chinese census, Nanyang was home to 9,713,112 people, ranking nineteenth in China, and its built-up (or metro) area made of Wolong and Wancheng Districts was home to 2,085,680 people.

Language
汉语，中原官话，河南话

Education
Nanyang higher education already has a good foundation for development. Nanyang is a great city of education. It has a fine tradition of respecting teachers and teaching and educating students. It has taken the lead in proposing a strategy of science and education in the country. In particular, in recent years, the municipal party committee and the municipal government have attached great importance to education. The education industry in our city has developed vigorously and the face of higher education has undergone tremendous changes. There are 6 colleges and universities in the city, with nearly 90,000 students. All colleges and universities adhere to the Party's education policy, implement the fundamental tasks of Lide Shuren, and have achieved unprecedented achievements in personnel training, scientific research, social services, cultural heritage innovation and international exchanges and cooperation, which not only promotes the city's science and technology. Innovation, social progress and improvement of people's livelihood have also laid a good foundation for achieving a higher level of development at a new starting point.

Secondary education

 * No.1 High school of Nanyang (南阳市一中)
 * No.2 High School of Nanyang
 * No.5 High School of Nanyang
 * No.8 High School of Nanyang

Library

 * Nanyang Library (南阳市图书馆)

Higher education

 * Nanyang Institute of Technology
 * Nanyang Normal University
 * Nanyang Medical College
 * Henan Polytechnic Institute (河南工业职业技术学院)
 * Nanyang Vocational College of Agriculture (南阳农业职业学院)

Administration
The prefecture-level city of Nanyang administers 2 districts, 1 county-level city and 10 counties.


 * Wolong District
 * Wancheng District
 * Dengzhou City
 * Xinye County
 * Sheqi County
 * Tanghe County
 * Tongbai County
 * Fangcheng County
 * Nanzhao County
 * Zhenping County
 * Neixiang County
 * Xixia County
 * Xichuan County

Economy

 * Nanyang has a developing cattle industry, as well as a tobacco factory.
 * The Bai River flows through Nanyang and provides it with an abundant supply of fish.
 * Nanyang produces two kinds of quality wine: Shedianlaojiu and Wolongyuye.
 * Nanyang oil field is the second largest oil field in Henan Province.
 * Agriculture plays an important role in its economy.
 * There is a large optical component production community in the area comprising several factories.

Railways
Nanyang is served by the following rail lines: Nanjing-Xi'an Railway, Jiaozuo-Liuzhou Railway, Haoji Railway, and Zhengzhou–Wanzhou high-speed railway.

Nanyang has three major railway stations: Nanyang railway station, Nanyang East railway station, and Nanyang West railway station. There are also several other small stations serving suburban areas. Direct train service is available to Beijing, Shenyang, and Harbin to the north; Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hangzhou to the east; Xining, Lanzhou, and Ürümqi to the west; and Guangzhou, Xiamen, Nanning, and Kunming to the south.

Highways and expressways
As of 2023, Nanyang has 898 km expressway, ranking the longest in Henan Province. The expressway is an important part of Nanyang's "One cross, three rings, and six radiations" plan.

China National Highway

 * China National Highway 207
 * China National Highway 234
 * China National Highway 311
 * China National Highway 312

China National Expressway

 * G40 Shanghai–Xi'an Expressway
 * G55 Erenhot–Guangzhou Expressway
 * G0421 Xuchang–Guangzhou Expressway

Henan Provincial Expressways

 * S81 Shangqiu–Nanyang Expressway
 * S83 Lankao–Nanyang Expressway
 * S98 Neixiang–Dengzhou Expressway

Airport and airlines
Nanyang Jiangying Airport is a civil aviation airport. It's 20 minutes from the urban area. Passengers can take flights to and from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Guilin.

There are also two avion airports.

Water
Tanghe to Madian waterway is under construction; the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

Public transit
Nanyang Public Transportation Corporation has 1,005 buses (97.8% are clean energy buses), 44 bus lines (859.8 km), and 1,050 stations.

As of 2023, a total of 1,500 taxis were in operation in Nanyang; all of them run on natural gas. In addition, there are more than 1,790 app-taxis and 35.98% of them are powered by renewable energy.

Dockless app based bikeshares such as DiDi Bike and Hellobike are also available.

Nanyang has planned six light rail lines with a total track mileage of 134 km.

Culture
The official language of Nanyang is Mandarin Chinese, but most locals speak the Henan dialect, with its easily identifiable stereotypical features; this local dialect is known as Nanyang Hua (南阳话), and is spoken by about 15 million people in the area.

There is also a local form of Chinese opera called Wan Opera.

Famous people from Nanyang

 * Zhuge Liang, resided in Nanyang; renowned adviser to Liu Bei and the first chancellor of the Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era
 * Fan Zhongyan, resided in Dengzhou, Nanyang; a Chinese military strategist, philosopher, poet, and politician during the Song Dynasty
 * Eryue He, resided in Nanyang; writer

Temples, cathedrals, and mosques

 * Wolong Gang
 * Nanyang Mansion (Ming & Qing dynasty)
 * Temple of holy doctor Zhang Zhongjing
 * Zhang Heng's Grave (Han dynasty)
 * Art Museum of Stone Portrait and Carvings of Han Dynasty (汉画馆)

Temples, cathedrals, and mosques

 * Jingziguan in Xichuan County is a historical and cultural town.
 * Neixiang County Mansion (Ming & Qing dynasty)
 * Sheqi Meeting Place (Qing dynasty)
 * Dengzhou Huazhou College

Sights

 * Funiu Shan World Geology Park
 * Danjiangkou Reservoir
 * Tongbai Water-Curtain Cave Temple
 * Shiren Mountain
 * Wu Hou Ci