Jinshui District 金水区

Setting and landscape

The district lies at the head of the southern wing of the Yellow River's alluvial fan, a flat, low plain that is higher in the west and southwest and lower in the east and northeast. Its highest point is the Zijing Pavilion (紫荆阁) in Zijingshan Park (紫荆山公园), at 109 metres; its lowest is Liuyuankou village (柳园口村), at 82.4 metres. The Yellow River runs for 6.968 kilometres through Xingdalu subdistrict (兴达路街道), while the other streams, among them the Jinshui, Xiong'er (熊耳河) and the Dongfeng Canal (东风渠), drain into the Jialu River (贾鲁河) and on to the Huai. Apart from the land inside the Yellow River levees, the district belongs to the Huai basin.

History

The Dahecun site (大河村遗址), found in 1964 and excavated from 1972, holds remains of the Yangshao, Longshan and Erlitou cultures and of the Shang, with Yangshao material predominating. Its painted pottery carries sun, moon and star motifs. The site became a national key protected site in June 2001, and a new Dahecun Site Museum (大河村遗址博物馆), with 7,292 square metres of galleries and more than 1,600 objects on display, began trial operation on 14 June 2025.

Before the Communist takeover the area belonged to Zheng County (郑县). The Jinshui People's Commune was set up in April 1960 and renamed Jinshui District in August 1961; in March 1987 the district took in Liulin, Jicheng and Yaoqiao townships from the abolished suburban district.

What to see

The Henan Museum, at 8 Nongye Road (农业路), is a national first-grade museum. It was founded in Kaifeng (开封) in 1927 under Feng Yuxiang (冯玉祥), moved to Zhengzhou in 1961 and opened its present building in 1997. Its strengths are prehistoric finds, Shang and Zhou bronzes, ceramics and jade, and its best-known pieces include the Lotus and Crane Square Hu (莲鹤方壶), a Jiahu bone flute (贾湖骨笛), the owl-shaped zun of Fu Hao (妇好鸮尊) and the Duling square ding (杜岭方鼎).

In September 2026 the district culture and tourism bureau published five walking routes. They take in the Madu viewing platform (马渡观景台) on the Yellow River, the former factory quarter now called Zhengzhou Memory·1952 Oil Chemical Plant (郑州记忆·1952油化厂), the Zhengzhou Zoo (郑州市动物园), the Henan Museum and the bar street on Nongke Road (农科路).

Highlights

• Henan Museum 河南博物院: National first-grade museum founded in 1927, in Zhengzhou since 1961; holds the Lotus and Crane Square Hu and a Jiahu bone flute.
• Dahecun site 大河村遗址: Neolithic settlement with Yangshao, Longshan and Erlitou layers; national key protected site since 2001, new museum opened for trial in 2025.
• Zijingshan Park 紫荆山公园: Its Zijing Pavilion, at 109 metres, marks the district's highest point.
• Zhengzhou Memory·1952 Oil Chemical Plant 郑州记忆·1952油化厂: Converted factory quarter on the district's industrial-heritage walking route.