[4] In prehistoric times, Huaxia, a confederation of tribes that later developed into the Han ethnicity, lived along the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River.

Since ancient times, Zhongyuan has been a strategically important site of China, regarded as 'The center and hub of the world'.

[9] The alluvial deposits of the Yellow River formed the vast plains of Zhongyuan in the Palaeozoic period.

[10] The region has sufficient water resources for plant growth, making it the center of the Chinese agrarian civilization, known as the 'Breadbasket of China'.

Only until the Northern and Southern dynasties (420–589 AD) onward, the term 'Zhongyuan' were widely accepted as a geographical concept.

Apart from being a geographical location, the term 'Zhongyuan' is also used as a historical and cultural concept that represents the dominance of the Han ethnicity.

Archaeological studies have shown that as far back as 80,000 to 100,000 years ago, the ancient people of Zhongyuan were using stone tools.

[23] In the Yuan dynasty, the rime book Zhongyuan Yinyun (Rhymes of the Central Plains) written by Zhou Deqing reflected the standard pronunciation of Early Mandarin.

[24] In modern China, Central Plains Mandarin is mainly used in Henan, Shandong, Anhui, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Hebei.