During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhengzhou was called Guancheng, which belonged to zhongmou county, Henan. Zhengzhou, known as Shangdu in ancient times, is the capital of Henan Province, a national historical and cultural city, one of the important birthplaces of Chinese civilization, the hometown of Huangdi, the ancestor of Chinese humanities, and one of the "eight ancient capitals of China". Famous scenic spots in Zhengzhou include Shaolin Temple, Stargazing Platform, Zhongyue Temple, Songyang Academy, Songshan Mountain, Tiandi and Henan Museum.

Zhengzhou is located in the middle of China, the lower reaches of the Yellow River, the hinterland of the Central Plains, and the north-central Henan. Located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and the transition zone from the northeast wing of Funiu Mountain to Huanghuai Plain, the terrain is high in the west and low in the east, high in the middle and low in the northeast or southeast. It belongs to the continental monsoon climate in the north temperate zone with four distinct seasons.

Zhengzhou is an important hub city of railway, aviation, electric power, postal service and telecommunication in China, and has the largest freight marshalling station in Asia. Zhengzhou Airport Port Area is the only comprehensive experimental area of national airport economy in China, and Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange is the first futures exchange in China.

Zhengzhou is called "the city pulled by trains". When Sheng Xuanhuai, a court minister in the late Qing Dynasty, surveyed the Luhan Railway, Zhengzhou Station was turned into a first-class railway station, which directly affected the development process of modern Zhengzhou. With the intersection of Longhai Railway and Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, Zhengzhou has always been in the position of China and the national railway transportation hub, and is known as the heart of China Railway.