Pingdingshan ( zh, s=平顶山, t=平頂山, p=Píngdǐngshān), also known as Eagle City ( zh, s=鹰城, p=Yīngchéng, t=鷹城), 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 central

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,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. It had 4,904,701 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 1,756,333 lived in the built-up (or metro) area including Ye county being conurbated.

History

In Chinese, Pingdingshan means "mountain with a flat top". The city is named after a nearby plateau, the top of which is very flat. The reason for the nickname of the city "Eagle City" can be traced back to two thousand years ago during the "Spring and Autumn Annals". There was a small country royal named Ying who lived in Pingdingshan area. In ancient times, the word "Ying" had the same pronunciation as Eagle in Chinese, therefore people also called Pingdingshan "Eagle City". Pingdingshan was established as a

in 1957.

Geography

Pingdingshan borders the provincial capital of

Zhengzhou Zhengzhou is the capital of Henan, China. Located in northern Henan, it is one of the nine National central city, national central cities in China, and serves as the political, economic, technological, and educational center of the province. Th ...

to the north,

Xuchang Xuchang ( zh, s=, t= ; postal: Hsuchang) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province in Central China. It is bordered by the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe ...

and

Luohe Luohe ( zh, s= , p=Luòhé; Postal romanization, postal: Loho) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province of China, province, China. It is surrounded by the cities of Xuchang, Zhoukou, Zhumadian and Pingdingshan on its north, east, sout ...

to the east,

Zhumadian Zhumadian ( zh, s= , t= , p=Zhùmǎdiàn; Postal romanization, postal: Chumatien) is a prefecture-level city in southern Henan province of China, province, China. It borders Xinyang to the south, Nanyang, Henan, Nanyang to the west, Pingdingshan to ...

to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, and

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

to the west. The Funiu Mountains run through the west of Pingdingshan, and the

North China Plain The North China Plain () is a large-scale downfaulted rift basin formed in the late Paleogene and Neogene and then modified by the deposits of the Yellow River. It is the largest alluvial plain of China. The plain is bordered to the north by th ...

s occupy the city's eastern portion. Mount Yao is located in the city. Over 30

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

s run through the city, and 163

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

s and

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

s are located in Pingdingshan.

Climate

Politics

CCP Municipal Committee Secretary

Since July 2021, has served as Pingdingshan's

Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary A Party Committee Secretary () is the leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organization in a province, city, village, or other administrative unit. In most cases, it is the ''de facto'' highest political office of its area of jurisdictio ...

Mayor

Pingdingshan's current

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

is , who has been serving in the position since July 2021. From 2003.08 to 2005.04 Wang Zhaoping was the Mayor of Pingdingshan. From 2005.04 to 2008.03 Zhao Qinglin was the Mayor of Pingdingshan. From 2008.03 to 2010.10 Li Endong was the Mayor of Pingdingshan. From 2010.10 to 2013.04 Chen Jiansheng was the Mayor of Pingdingshan. From 2013.04 to January 2018 Zhang Guowei was the Mayor of Pingdingshan. Zhang Leiming, the current CCP Municipal Committee Secretary, had served as the Mayor from January 2018 until July 2021.

Administration

The

of Pingdingshan administers 4

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 ...

, 2

county-level cities , map = , category = Third level administrative division of a unitary state , territory = People's Republic of China , upper_unit = Prefectures, Provinces , start_date = , current_number = 411 (408 controlled, 3 claimed) , number_da ...

and 4

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 ...

Demographics

Pingdingshan has a permanent population of about 4,987,100 as of 2020. According to a 2019 publication by the city's government, there are 79,467 people (1.8% of the total population) in Pingdingshan who are

ethnic minorities The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority g ...

, representing 48 different recognized groups. The largest ethnic minority in Pingdingshan is the

Hui people The Hui people are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Islam in China, Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the Northwest China, northwestern provinces and in the Zhongy ...

, who number 62,040, accounting for 77.8% of the city's total ethnic minority population. Other sizable ethnic minority populations in Pingdingshan include the

Manchus The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) an ...

, who number 8,780, and the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

, who number 6,096. The remaining 45 ethnic groups account for just 2,551 people. Zhanhe District, Jia County, and

Ye County Ye County or Yexian () is a County (People's Republic of China), county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Pingdingshan, Henan province, China, with a population of . The ancient town of Kunyang was located in Ye County. It ...

all have over 10,000 people who identify as ethnic minorities. Pingdingshan has two ethnic townships: in Ye County and in Jia County. 48 administrative villages in Pingdingshan have an ethnic minority population of 30% or more, or more than 300 ethnic minorities residing in them. There are 18 schools throughout the city designated for ethnic minorities: 1 Mongol

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

, 15 Hui primary schools, and two Hui

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

Economy

Pingdingshan's economy has grown rapidly in the 21st century, with the city's

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...

(GDP) more than doubling from 112.781 billion

renminbi The renminbi ( ; currency symbol, symbol: Yen and yuan sign, ¥; ISO 4217, ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB), also known as the Chinese yuan, is the official currency of the China, People's Republic of China. The renminbi is issued by the Peop ...

(RMB) in 2009 to 245.584 billion in 2020. Pingdingshan had been identified by the

Economist Intelligence Unit The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the research and analysis division of the Economist Group, providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts ...

in the November 2010 Access China White Paper as a member of the CHAMPS (

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

Hefei Hefei is the Capital city, capital of Anhui, China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census. Its built-up (or ''metro'') area is made up of four u ...

, Anshan, Maanshan, Pingdingshan and

Shenyang Shenyang,; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly known as Fengtian formerly known by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a sub-provincial city in China and the list of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Liaonin ...

), an economic profile of the top 20 emerging cities in China. The city's economy is largely reliant on its secondary and tertiary sectors, which comprise 110.803 billion RMB (45.12% of total GDP) and 114.318 billion RMB (46.55% of total GDP), respectively. The city's primary sector comprises just 20.464 billion RMB (8.33% of total GDP). The city's tertiary sector has seen particularly rapid growth during this period, growing by about 300% from 2009 to 2020. Major companies located in Pingdingshan include , Pinggao Group (), Wugang Company (), and .

Natural resources

Pingdingshan hosts one of the largest coal fields in all of

, and has attracted international attention for its prominent

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

industry. However, beginning in the latter half of the 2010s, coal production in the city began declining, due to a depletion of the city's coal mines, increased environmental regulations, and a series of high-profile mining accidents.

Sodium Sodium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Na (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 element, group 1 of the peri ...

and

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

are mined on a large-scale in Pingdingshan, and other mineral resources include manganese, aluminum, fluorite, and gypsum. Pingdingshan has about 10 billion tons of coal reserves, the largest coalfield area in the South and East of China; well known as "the coal storage of the central area of China". The city also 230 billion tons of salt reserves, ranking first in

province, second in China. Henan province houses some of the biggest limestone reserves in China estimated over 24 billion tons, Pindingshan is the cement center for limestone mine production and quarrying in the province.

Education

Colleges and universities

* Pingdingshan University * * * *

High schools

* Pingdingshan No.1 Middle School * Pingdingshan No.1 High School * Pingdingshan No.2 Middle School *Pingdingshan No.2 High School *Pingdingshan No.3 High School * Pingdingshan No.8 Middle School * Pingdingshan Experimental High School *Lushan No. 1 Middle School

Religion

Pingdingshan has state-sanctioned

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

Taoist Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic,

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, and

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

organizations. Officially, there are 78

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

s, 100 Taoist temples, 70

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

s, 2 Catholic churches, and 104 Protestant churches. On April 25, 1948, Comrade Deng Xiaoping held a joint meeting of the revolutionary committee at the China Gospel Fellowship Church which was used as a memorial hall.

Tourism

*Pingdingshan thrush Valley: A National "AAA" rated scenic spot and a major tourist attraction in Henan. It is named after the many thrushes breeding here. The scenic area is a total of . There are numerous attractions such as cuckoo lake, an area known as "the pocket of the Three Gorges". * Mount Yao: A national "AAAA" rated scenic spot. Located nearby in Lushan County. Originally known as Yaoshan Shirenshan. Home to the Spring Temple Buddha, the second largest statue in the world, built in 2002. * * Qizu Pagoda * * *

Twin towns — sister cities

Pingdingshan, People's Republic of China is twinned with: *

Andong Andong () is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in South Korea, and the capital of North Gyeongsang Province. It is the largest city in the northern part of the province with a population of 167,821 as of October 2010. The Nakdong Ri ...

North Gyeongsang Province North Gyeongsang Province (, ) is a province in eastern South Korea, and with an area of , it is the largest province in the Korean peninsula. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remaine ...

, South Korea * Balneário Camboriú, Santa Catarina, Brazil * Syzran,

Samara Oblast Samara Oblast (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Samara. From 1935 to 1991, it was known as Kuybyshev Oblast. As of the Rus ...

, Russia

References

External links

Pingdingshan Municipal People's Government
(in Simplified Chinese)
Pingdingshan Information PortalPingdingshan News NetworkPingdingshan Economic NetworkTourism in Pingdingshan
{{Authority control Cities in Henan Prefecture-level divisions of Henan National forest cities in China Populated places established in 1957 1957 establishments in China