Pingdingshan, Henan Province, China

🇨🇳 Pingdingshan, also known as the Eagle City, is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province, China. The area includes Ye county.

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 prefecture-level city in 1957.

Geography Pingdingshan borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the north, Xuchang and Luohe to the east, Zhumadian to the south-east, Nanyang to the south, and Luoyang to the west.

The Funiu Mountains run through the west of Pingdingshan, and the North China Plains occupy the city's eastern portion. Mount Yao is located in the city. Over 30 rivers run through the city, and 163 lakes and reservoirs are located in Pingdingshan.

Administration The prefecture-level city of Pingdingshan administers 4 districts, 2 county-level cities and 4 counties.

Economy Pingdingshan's economy has grown rapidly in the 21st century, with the city's gross domestic product (GDP) more than doubling from 112.781 billion renminbi (RMB) in 2009 to 245.584 billion in 2020. Pingdingshan had been identified by the Economist Intelligence Unit in the November 2010 Access China White Paper as a member of the CHAMPS (Chongqing, Hefei, Anshan, Maanshan, Pingdingshan and Shenyang), 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 China Pingmei Shenma Group Pinggao Group (Chinese: 平高集团), Wugang Company (Chinese: 舞钢公司), and Tianrui Cement .

Natural resources Pingdingshan hosts one of the largest coal fields in all of China, and has attracted international attention for its prominent coal mining 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 and iron 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 Henan province, second in China. Henan province houses some of the biggest limestone reserves in China estimated over 24 billion tons, Pindingshan is the cement centre for limestone mine production and quarrying in the province. Pingdingshan is very rich in water resources compared to other inland cities. It has Baiguishan Reservoir, Zhaopingtai Reservoir, Yanshan Reservoir, Shimantan Reservoir and Gushitan Reservoir.

Education: Universities • Pingdingshan University • Henan University of Urban Construction • Pingdingshan Vocational and Technical College • Pingdingshan Polytechnic College • Henan Quality Institute.

Tourist Industry • 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 30 square km (12 sq mi). 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. • Xiangshan Temple  • Qizu Pagoda • Ruguan Kiln Ruins Museum  • Sansu Tombs  • Ma Street Book Club .