HSIN-YANG

Pinyin Xinyang city in southern Honan sheng (province), China. Hsin-yang is in the very south of the Honan plain, in the basin between the Ta-pieh Mountains and the Huai River. It has traditionally been on a cultural divide between the plain and the hilly districts to the south. It was also a natural route centre on the Shih River, a tributary of the Huai. The Shih has become passable for relatively large craft since the construction of the Nan-wan Dam, which provides a constant flow of water. To the south, the Ming-wei Pass leads over the Ta-pieh Mountains, while to the west two further passesthe Wu-sheng and the Chiu-lilead into Hupeh province and the Han River valley. The area has been settled since early times. Neolithic (New Stone Age) remains have been discovered in several sites, and important finds from the southern culture of Ch'u (722220 BC) have also been made in the vicinity. During the centuries before unification under the Ch'in dynasty in 221 BC, the site was a frontier settlement of Ch'u and a major defensive position. It was also a place of strategic importance from the 4th century AD to the late 6th century but constantly changed hands and underwent many name changes. The name Hsin-yang was first given to the town in AD 976. The present city dates from the late 14th century, when the local administration was transferred from an earlier site nearby. Under the Ch'ing dynasty (16441911) it was known as San-chou. It reverted to county status and took its present name in 1913. Hsin-yang was always the local centre of a fertile district, and its prosperity grew after the completion of the PekingHan-k'ou railway in 1905. As the southernmost rail centre in Honan, with good road and river transport facilities, the city grew into a major collecting point for grain, cotton, and other local agricultural produce. Its importance was augmented by the completion in the early 1960s of extensive irrigation works in the Huai River valley. It has flour mills, mills for hulling and polishing rice, and factories for manufacturing agricultural implements. Pop. (1990 est.) 192,509.