Zhengzhou

Zhengzhou is the capital of Henan, China. Located in northern Henan, it is one of the nine national central cities in China, and serves as the political, economic, technological, and educational center of the province. The Zhengzhou metropolitan area (including Zhengzhou and Kaifeng) is the core area of the Central Plains Economic Zone.

The city lies on the southern bank of the Yellow River. Zhengzhou is a major hub of China's domestic and international transportation network; for example, it is connected to Europe and has an international airport. Zhengzhou is a National Civilized City and a State-list Famous Historical and Culture City. As of 2020, there are two World Cultural Heritage Sites in Zhengzhou. The Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE) is China's first futures exchange. Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone is China's first Airport Economy Zone.

As of the 2020 Chinese census, the prefecture-level city of Zhengzhou had a population of 12,600,574 inhabitants, of whom 10,260,667 lived in its built-up (or metro) area made of 6 urban districts plus Zhongmu county, Xinzheng and Xingyang cities now largely being conurbated. The city had a total GDP of 1.014 trillion (RMB) in 2018. Greater Zhengzhou was named as one of the 13 emerging mega-cities in China in a July 2012 report by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and officially named as the eighth National Central City in 2017 by the central government in Beijing.

Zhengzhou is a major city for scientific research, appearing among the world's top 100 cities as tracked by the Nature Index. The city is home to several national key universities in China, notably Zhengzhou University, Henan University, Henan Agricultural University, Henan University of Chinese Medicine, and Henan University of Technology.