Zhengzhou, or Chengchow. Industrial city
(light engineering, cotton textiles, foods)
and capital (from 1954) of Henan province,
China, on the Huang Ho; population (1996)
1,590,000.
In the 1970s the earliest city found in
China, from 1500 BC, was excavated near the
walls of Zhengzhou. The Shaolin temple, where
the martial art of kung fu originated, is
nearby.