The name of Xingyang, coming from Shangshu, means the city located in the north of Xing River (荥). The history of Xingyang can be retrieved in books written more than 3,000 years ago.
It is believed in Chinese legend that Xingyang is the place where Chang'e flew to the Moon. In addition, many influential persons in Chinese history were from Xingyang, such as Shen Buhai, a legalist in the Warring States period) and Li Shangyin (a poet in late Tang dynasty). Moreover, Xingyang is considered as the origin place of the people whose surname is Zheng (郑氏) in the world.
Xingyang is home to remains from the Han dynasty.[7]
In 2004 the GDP is ¥ 14.5 Billion, and the GDP per capita is ¥ 23,387.
Located on the flat southern bank of the Yellow River, Xingyang's Wangcun Town is known for its aquaculture. Since their development started in 1986, the pond systems in Wangcun have grown to the total size of 15,000 mu (10 km2), making the town the largest aquaculture center in North China.[9]
In 2007, construction started in Wangcun on a large turtle farm raising the Yellow River Turtle (a local variety of the Chinese softshell turtle). With the capacity for raising 5 million turtles a year, the facility was expected to become Henan's largest farm of this kind.[10]
Transportation
Taxi
In 2005, the start fee of Taxi for the first 3 kilometres is about ¥ 4, and the cost for every additional kilometre is ¥ 1. Fares are generally somewhat higher during 10 pm to 6 am. Normally ¥ 6-7 is maximum for traveling in Xingyang.
Chuhehanjie (楚河汉界, or Honggou) is a famous place in the early Western Han dynasty where Liu Bang, the creator of the Western Han dynasty, fought for years with his rival, Xiang Yu. Because none of them could win after years, they decided to use the Chuhehanjie to divide China into two parts, with the eastern part to Xiang Yu and western part to Liu Bang after negotiation. Liu Bang broke this agreement later when Xiang Yu retreated from Xingyang to rescue the capital of his territory, which was attacked by Han Xin. The border between the two is commonly referenced in Xiangqi (i.e., Chinese chess) as the symbolic divider between the two sides of a game board.