Xinxiang

Xinxiang, city, northern Henan sheng (province), China. It is a transportation centre located at the head of navigation of the Wei River, with access northeast to Tianjin, and at the southern end of a route from Hebei province that runs west to ultimately connect with southern Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces. Xinxiang was the capital of the short-lived Pingyuan province (1949–52); when that province was abolished, the city came back under the administration of Henan.

The town was founded under the Sui dynasty (581–618 ce) and gained importance because of its location, where the Yongji Canal joined the Wei River to the Huang He (Yellow River), thus affording a transport route from the Huang He valley to northern Hebei. When the Grand Canal was constructed farther to the east in the early 15th century, Xinxiang remained a transport centre for southeastern Shanxi and northern Henan provinces, standing on a waterway that afforded an easy route to Tianjin and Beijing. It also served as a collecting centre for cotton.

The town gained new importance with the completion of the railway from Beijing to Hankou in 1905. This line gave access to the important coalfield at Jiaozuo to the west of Xinxiang. In 1949 Xinxiang had only four small factories, but by the mid-1950s it had been transformed from a prosperous regional commercial hub and market into a minor industrial centre and the chief city of northern Henan. In addition to cotton-textile production, spinning, and dyeing, its industries now include food processing and the manufacture of electronics, pharmaceuticals, machinery, automobiles and automotive parts, and chemicals.

The usefulness of the Wei River as a transport route was increased by the construction of the People’s Victory Canal (which links the Wei’s headwaters with the Huang He to allow diversion of water when the level is low) and by the improvement of the lower course as part of a major Hai River conservation project. The city is also the junction point for major east-west and north-south railway lines, and it is linked by the highway network to the three large provincial cities of Zhengzhou, Luoyang, and Kaifeng via bridges over the Huang He. To the north, an expressway connects the city with Beijing. Pop. (2002 est.) city, 647,868; (2007 est.) urban agglom., 903,000.