Shangqiu (Chinese: 商丘), alternately romanized as Shangkiu, is a city in eastern Henan province, Central China.
Its population was 7,816,831 inhabitants as of the 2020 Chinese census whom 2,831,814 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made up of two urban districts (Liangyuan and Suiyang) and Yucheng county now being conurbated.
Shangqiu and surrounding area was an important base for the Shang dynasty (c. 1600 – c. 1046 BC), and the city itself was established more than three millennia ago.
The Song capital, known as Suiyang, was located at present-day Nanguan (南关) in the south of Shangqiu's urban area.
The king was also a famous patron of arts and literature who hosted some of the best known Han poets, such as Zhuang Ji and Sima Xiangru, in the Liang capital.
Before he ascended to the imperial throne as the Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin was the jiedushi (military governor) of Guidejun (歸德軍), a region centered in Songzhou.
[6] Shangqiu was the first in a series of temporary capitals that the Song dynasty government moved to during their retreat from the north,[7][8] when most of northern China had been conquered by the Jurchens in the Jin–Song wars.
[9] The Song court had retreated south to the city from their original capital in Kaifeng, after it was captured by the Jurchens in the Jingkang Incident of 1127.
[10] It was known at the time as Kweiteh, Kwei-teh, or Kuei-te (歸德; Guīdé)[11] and had both a Catholic diocese and an Anglican mission, the later of which ran St Paul's Hospital.
Winters are cool and mostly dry while summers are hot and humid; spring is warm and sees some, but not much rainfall, while autumn weather is crisp and drier.
Since agriculture is still a major part of the economy of Shangqiu, many of the work is related to farmers and the development of the rural area.
Shangqiu is traditionally a centre of the indigenous Chinese religious cult of Huoshen (火神 "Fire God").
Moreover, Shangqiu traditionally hosted the headquarters of Liguaism (Li Symbol transmission), the most important denomination of Baguadao.
The most important agricultural products are wheat, maize, cotton, sesame, vegetables, fruit, tobacco, and livestock.
Nowadays, Longhai railway has become the Chinese segment of the larger "European-Asia continental landbridge," which runs from the sea port city Lianyungang to Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
The education sector of Shangqiu is mainly professional training oriented, with an increasing number of such colleges coming into sight ever since the 1990s.
Yingtian Shuyuan, one of the largest four official education agencies in north Song dynasty, is located in the Suiyang district of Shangqiu.