Henan Province is located in eastern central China, on the plain between the Yellow and Huaihe rivers. As most part of the province lies to the south of the Yellow River, which runs for over 700 km through its territory, it was given the name Henan (River South). Because Henan was called Yuzhou and considered as the center of China more than 2,000 years ago, the province is called Yu for short, and also referred to as Zhongzhou (Central Prefecture) and Zhongyuan (Central Plain). Neighboring Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hubei, Anhui and Shandong provinces, Henan covers an area of 167,000 sq km.