Shangqiu, Henan Province, China

🇨🇳 Shangqiu (商丘), alternately Shangkiu, is a city in eastern Henan province, Central China. It borders Kaifeng to the north-west, Zhoukou to the south-west, and the provinces of Shandong and Anhui to the north-east and south-east respectively. The built-up (or metro) area made up of two urban districts (Liangyuan and Suiyang) and Yucheng county now being conurbated.

The Shangqiu area was the ancient homeland of the Shang dynasty (c. 1600 – c. 1046 BC), and the city itself was established more than three millennia ago. Shangqiu has grown significantly in recent years. It is located at an important location at the junction of several major railways, making it a major regional transportation hub.

Agriculture Situated on the North China Plain, Shangqiu is part of a traditionally agricultural region. The fertile soil and convenient irrigation facilities greatly help the production of crops and other plants. As of 2005, there are about 719,864 hectare planted. The most important agricultural products are wheat, maize, cotton, sesame, vegetables, fruit, tobacco, and livestock. In 2002, it produced about 4.5 million tons of crops, 200 thousand tons of cotton, 1.1 million tons of fruits, and 550 thousand tons of livestock.

Industry Compared with the agriculture, the industry of Shangqiu is relatively less developed. However, since the 1990s, it has experienced rapid growth. The food producing and packing company, Kedi group, has already been the number one exporter of frozen vegetables in the country. The large reserves of coal in Shangqiu (the Yongcheng-Xiayi coal mine is estimated to have a total reserves of 10 billion tons) also boosts up the energy industry, such as electricity generation and aluminium electrolysis.

Transportation Since the completion of east-west running Longhai railway in 1916, Shangqiu has been a local transportation center. This standing is greatly enhanced following the construction of the Beijing-Kowloon (Hong Kong) railway in 1996, which crosses with Longhai railway at Shangqiu. Nowadays, Longhai railway has become the Chinese segment of the larger "European-Asia continental landbridge", which runs from the sea port city Lianyungang to Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Shangqiu thus obtains the name of the city of the "golden cross". On the other hand, the road transport is also convenient and getting even better. The east-west direction Lianyungang-Khorghas (Xinjiang) national route 310 and north-south Beijing-Zhuhai national routh 105 also cross at Shangqiu. Highway traffic is fast-developing too. The Shangqiu-Kaifeng segment of the Lianyungang-Khorghas highway is already in use. Future planning for highway construction is also underway.

Shangqiu–Hangzhou high-speed railway began operation in June 2020.

Education The education sector of Shangqiu is mainly professional training oriented, with an increasing number of such colleges coming into sight ever since the 1990s. Colleges and universities: • Shangqiu University (商丘学院) • Shangqiu Normal University (商丘师范学院) • Shangqiu Institute of Technology (商丘工学院) • Shangqiu Professional Training College (商丘职业技术学院) • Shangqiu Medical College (商丘医学高等专科学校).