Pingyuan (province)

thumb|Former Site of the CPC Pingyuan Provincial Committee in [[Muye District|Muye, Xinxiang]]

Pingyuan () was a former province in Central China, located in what is now part of Henan and Shandong. It existed from 1949 to 1952, and its capital was Xinxiang.

Pingyuan was established on August 20, 1949. It was composed of the following adjoining prefectures in the provinces of Henan and Shandong:

Xinxiang, Henan (along with then-separate urban centre Xinxiang City)
Puyang, Henan
Anyang, Henan (along with then-separate urban centre Anyang City)
Heze, Shandong
Huxi, Shandong
Liaocheng, Shandong

Pan Fusheng was the first Communist Party Chief of the province, and Chao Zhefu was its only governor. In March 1950, a number of peasants and cattle froze to death when transporting grain to government storage in Puyang. Pan took partial responsibility for the "Puyang Incident" and was demoted to deputy party chief.

Pingyuan was abolished on November 15, 1952. Its territory were returned to their original provinces, with the exception of Anyang's Wu'an, Shexian and Linzhang counties, which were transferred to Handan prefecture in Hebei.

Administrative divisions

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;" align=center

! Name

! Administrative Seat

! Simplified Chinese

! Hanyu Pinyin

! Subdivisions

|Xinxiang

|

|Xīnxiāng Shì

|none

|Anyang

|

|Ānyáng Shì

|none

|Heze Division

|Heze County

|

|Hézé Zhuānqū

|8 counties

|Huxi Division

|Dianxian

|

|Húxī Zhuānqū

|2 counties

|Liaocheng Division

|Liaocheng County

|

|Liáochéng Zhuānqū

|11 counties

|Puyang Division

|Puyang County

|

|Púyáng Zhuānqū

|7 counties

|Anyang Division

|Anyang County

|

|Ānyáng Zhuānqū

|6 counties

|Xinxiang Division

|Xinxiang County

|

|Xīnxiāng Zhuānqū

|13 counties