The name Zhengzhou came from the Sui dynasty ( AD 581 ) , even though it was located in Chenggao , another town . The government moved to the contemporary city during the Tang dynasty . It achieved its greatest importance under the Sui ( AD 581 – 618 ) , Tang ( 618 – 907 ) , and early Song ( 960 – 1127 ) dynasties , when it was the terminus of the New Bian Canal , which joined the Yellow River to the northwest . There , at a place called Heyin , a vast granary complex was established to supply the capitals at Luoyang and Chang ' an to the west and the frontier armies to the north . In the Song period , however , the transfer of the capital eastward to Kaifeng robbed Zhengzhou of much of its importance . It was a capital during the five dynasties of Xia , Shang , Guan , Zheng , and Han , and a prefecture during the eight dynasties of Sui , Tang , Five Dynasties , Song , Jin , Yuan , Ming , and Qing . In 1903 the Beijing – Hankou Railway arrived at Zhengzhou , and in 1909 the first stage of the Longhai Railway gave it an east – west link to Kaifeng and Luoyang ; it later was extended eastward to the coast at Lianyungang , Jiangsu , and westward to Xi'an ( Chang ' an ) , Shaanxi , as well as to western Shaanxi . Zhengzhou thus became a major rail junction and a regional center for cotton , grain , peanuts , and other agricultural produce . Early in 1923 a workers ' strike began in Zhengzhou and spread along the rail line before it was suppressed ; a 14-story double tower in the center of the city commemorates the strike . On June 10 , 1938 , Chiang Kai-shek 's National Revolutionary Army opened up the dikes retaining the Yellow River at Huayuankou between Zhengzhou and Kaifeng , in an effort to stem the tide of invading Japanese ; however , the ensuing 1938 Yellow River flood also killed hundreds of thousands of Chinese
1938 Yellow River flood
1938 Yellow River flood
Zhengzhou