Hebi

Not to be confused with the province of Hebei.

Hebi (simplified Chinese: 鹤壁; traditional Chinese: 鶴壁; pinyin: Hèbì [xɤ̂.pî]; postal: Hopi) is a prefecture-level city in northern Henan province, China. Situated in mountainous terrain at the edge of the Shanxi plateau, Hebi is about 25 miles (40 km) south of Anyang, 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Xinxiang and 65 miles (105 km) north of Kaifeng.

Hebi 鹤壁市 Hopi
Prefecture-level city
From top, left to right: Temple of the Eight Symbols in Qi County; Pagoda in Xun County; Shancheng District Department Store; View near Hebi East railway station
Location of Hebi in Henan
Hebi Location in the North China Plain Show map of Northern China Hebi Hebi (China) Show map of China
Coordinates (Hebi municipal government): 35°44′53″N 114°17′49″E
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Henan
Municipal seat	Qibin District
Area
• Prefecture-level city	2,299 km2 (888 sq mi)
• Urban  (2018)[1]	543 km2 (210 sq mi)
• Metro	847.3 km2 (327.1 sq mi)
Population  (2020 census for total, 2018 otherwise)[2]
• Prefecture-level city	1,565,973
• Density	680/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
• Urban  (2018)[1]	667,600
• Urban density	1,200/km2 (3,200/sq mi)
• Metro	574,000
• Metro density	680/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
GDP[3][4]
• Prefecture-level city	CN¥ 77.2 billion US$ 11.6 billion
• Per capita	CN¥ 47,940 US$ 7,217
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard)
Area code	392
ISO 3166 code	CN-HA-06
Major Nationalities	Han
County-level divisions	5
Township-level divisions	unknown
License plate prefixes	豫F
Website	hebi.gov.cn

As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,565,973 inhabitants and in the 2018 estimate 574,000 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of Qibin District and Qi County largely conurbated. One can notice that Shancheng District and Heshan District are for the moment, part of another built-up area of 372,600 inhabitants close to Anyang.^[2]

Hebi has several coal mines. The city is also home to Hebi New Area, an economic development zone.

Administration

The prefecture-level city of Hebi administers 3 districts and 2 counties.

• Qibin District (淇滨区)
• Shancheng District (山城区)
• Heshan District (鹤山区)
• Xun County (浚县)
• Qi County (淇县)

Map
Heshan Shancheng Qibin Xun County Qi County

Climate

Climate data for Hebi, elevation 80 m (260 ft), (1991–2020 normals)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	4.3 (39.7)	8.0 (46.4)	15.2 (59.4)	20.7 (69.3)	27.0 (80.6)	32.7 (90.9)	32.5 (90.5)	30.5 (86.9)	27.0 (80.6)	21.3 (70.3)	13.1 (55.6)	6.7 (44.1)	19.9 (67.9)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−1.4 (29.5)	1.8 (35.2)	8.7 (47.7)	14.5 (58.1)	20.9 (69.6)	26.2 (79.2)	27.3 (81.1)	25.6 (78.1)	20.7 (69.3)	15.1 (59.2)	7.5 (45.5)	0.5 (32.9)	13.9 (57.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−6.0 (21.2)	−3.1 (26.4)	2.7 (36.9)	8.4 (47.1)	14.7 (58.5)	20.1 (68.2)	23.0 (73.4)	21.6 (70.9)	15.8 (60.4)	10.2 (50.4)	2.9 (37.2)	−4.2 (24.4)	8.8 (47.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	6.1 (0.24)	8.2 (0.32)	5.9 (0.23)	42.3 (1.67)	36.8 (1.45)	65.1 (2.56)	155.1 (6.11)	133.9 (5.27)	64.3 (2.53)	24.2 (0.95)	23.4 (0.92)	3.4 (0.13)	568.7 (22.38)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm)	2.3	2.3	2.7	5.8	6.4	7.0	10.3	9.9	7.6	5.7	5.7	1.4	67.1
Average relative humidity (%)	62	60	59	67	66	59	76	82	78	69	70	65	68
Source: China Meteorological Administration[5][6]

History

The name of "Hebi" first appears in book "History of Jin". It is believed that during ancient times, cranes would rest on the cliffs of the southern mountains. The southern mountain was then named 鹤山(HeShan), where 鹤 means crane. The village near the southern mountain was then named 鹤壁 (Hebi), which literally translates to "Cranes resting on cliffs").

Relocation of the Urban Area of Hebi

The urban area of Hebi has undergone three relocations. In 1957, the urban area was selected to be in Hebiji. With the construction of the mine #2 and mine #3, the urban area moved south to what is now known as Zhongshan District in December 1957. Later in 1959, the urban area changed from Zhongshan District to another district that is known as Dahu. However, the surrounding areas of the urban area became mostly subsidence areas, restricting further development of the city. Therefore, in 1992, Hebi government established Qibin Economic Development Zone at the junction of Qi County, Junxian County in the southeast. As the scale of the Qibin Economic Development Zone expands, the political center of the city also moved to Qibin District in May 1999. Qibin District is now the new political, economic center of Hebi City.