Xinxiang, Henan Province, China

🇨🇳 Xinxiang (新乡) is a prefecture-level city in northern Henan province, China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to its south-west, Kaifeng to its south-east, Hebi and Anyang to its north, Jiaozuo to its west, and the provinces of Shanxi and Shandong to its north-west and east respectively. The built-up (or metro) area is made of 4 urban districts (Weibin, Hongqi, Muye, Fenquan), as well as Yanjin county, Xinxiang county and Huixian City which are now being conurbated as the city is expanding very quickly.

History Xinxiang was site of the Battle of Muye where the Shang Dynasty was overthrown by the Zhou. Xinxiang dates from the Sui dynasty (581-618) and was a small market centre before being developed as an industrial centre in the 1950s. It also served as the capital of the short-lived Pingyuan Province, which covered neighbouring cities -Anyang, Hebi, Puyang, Jiaozuo and Heze, between 1949 and 1952, for the purpose of pacifying Nationalist guerillas through military action and accepting surrender.

In July 2021, Xinxiang was harshly impacted by the flooding in Henan, which affected about 470,000 people and over 55,000 hectares (140,000 acres) of cropland.

Religion Xinjiang Roman Catholics are served by the Apostolic Prefecture of Xinxiang (Latin: Sinsiang / Sinsiangen(sis)), which was established on July 7, 1936, on missionary territory split off from the then Apostolic Vicariate of Weihuifu (卫辉府; 衛輝府) (now Diocese of Jixian). It is a pre-diocesan jurisdiction, which is exempt (i.e., directly subject to the Holy See and its missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples), and not part of any ecclesiastical province.

It has had the following incumbent Apostolic Prefects of Xinxiang (Roman Rite): • Father Thomas Megan (米干), Divine Word Missionaries S.V.D.) (born USA) (1936.07.07 – retired 1948), died 1951 • Fr. Johannes Schütte (舒德), S.V.D. (born Germany) (1948 – death 1971.11.18), also Superior General of Society of the Divine Word (Divine Word Missionaries) (1958.03.28 – 1967.12.15) and Vice-Secretary of Pontifical Commission of Justice and Peace (1968–1971.11.18) • Joseph Zhang Wei-zhu (張維柱) (first Chinese and secular priest) (1992, with clandestine episcopal consecration)

Military Xinxiang is the headquarters of the 83rd Group Army of the People's Liberation Army, one of the three group armies that comprise the Jinan Military Region responsible for defence of the Yellow River plain.

Administration The prefecture-level city administers 4 districts, 3 county-level cities and 5 counties. • District: ◦ Weibin District ◦ Hongqi District ◦ Muye District ◦ Fengquan District • County-level city: ◦ Huixian City ◦ Weihui City ◦ Changyuan City • County: ◦ Xinxiang County ◦ Huojia County ◦ Yuanyang County ◦ Yanjin County ◦ Fengqiu County.

Economy Frestech, a major home appliance company, was located in Xinxiang prior to its liquidation in 2018. One of the business units spun off in Frestech's dissolution, Xinfei Electric Group, continues to operate in Xinxiang. Xinfei Electric Group, now a wholly-owned subsidy of Aviation Industry Corporation of China, produces refrigerated trucks, military vehicles, RVs, modular building structures, precision equipment, refrigerators, air conditioners, and environmental control equipment.

Other important enterprises located in Xinxiang include Golden Dragon Copper Group, Bailu Chemical Fibre, Henan Kelong Group, and AVIC XINHANG Industry Corporation.

Agriculture and textiles Textiles and processed food are also major products of Xinxiang. As an old textiles base, the cotton industry is very developed in Xinxiang.

Transport The city is a rail junction and industrial centre at the head of navigation on the Wei River. The river, made navigable for small vessels by river improvements in the 1950s, links the city with Tianjin, the main port for Beijing. Later, due to heavy industrial chemical pollution, the river course had been totally cut off and got filled up. After recent dredges, it is still no more than a man-made lake.

Transport: Rail Xinxiang is located at the junction of the Beijing-Guangzhou, Xinxiang-Yueshan and the Xinxiang-Yanzhou Railways. Xinxiang has two railway stations: Xinxiang Railway Station and Xinxiang East Railway Station.

Education and research Xinxiang is a major city for research appearing among the top 200 cities in the world by scientific research outputs as of 2023, as tracked by the Nature Index.

There are several universities and colleges located in the prefecture-level city. • Henan Normal University • Xinxiang University: newly combined university located in the eastern part of Xinxiang, it has 21 faculties and 3 centers • Henan Institute of Science and Technology • Xinxiang Medical University • Henan Mechanical and Electrical Engineering College • Xinxiang Hygiene School.