The Yellow River is the Mother River of the Chinese nation，the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Civilizations that originated in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River were an important source of Chinese Civilization. The Yellow River Civilization is not only a regional civilization in the Yellow River Basin, but also a national civilization that represents the Chinese nation in history. It is the most representative and most influential subject civilization in Chinese Civilization, and it is also the longest and most sustainable axis civilization ever uploaded to the history of world civilization. Jinping Xi ,General Secretary once said: " The people of a nation and country must know who they are, where they come from and where they want to go." The Yellow River Civilization is the cultural foundation that unites the national identity and national identity of the Chinese nation and is the historical basis for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Taking the Yellow River Civilization Research as the Starting Point, answering “who we are”、“where do we come from” and “where do we want to go” is of great historical and practical significance to strengthen China's road self-confidence and culture self-confidence and realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Henan University is located on the coast of the Yellow River and has a profound academic tradition for the study of the Yellow River and the Yellow River Civilization. Since the new century, the school has established the Key Research Institute of Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development by integrating traditional dominant disciplines such as geography, economics, history, archeology, and chinese literature. In 2004, the institute was approved by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China to become a key scientific research basing for humanities and social sciences in the general colleges and universities across the country. It is the only national comprehensive research and consulting institution in the country that studies the sustainable development of the Yellow River Civilization and coastal areas，including the Institute of Yellow River Ecology and Sustainable Development, Institute of Institutional Change and Economic Development, Institute of Yellow River Civilization, Institute of Central Plains Culture and Folklore, Institute of Ancient Chinese Characters, Institute for Hui Studies, Laboratory of Integrated Humanities and Social Sciences in Space and Time，a comprehensive Yellow River Database—large-scale database platform.
Thefundamental tasks of Key Research Institute of Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development include serving for "The Yellow River Civilization's Great Rejuvenation" and "Sustainable Development in the Yellow River Region"、constructing the Study of Yellow River academic system and knowledge system, training academic teams and innovative talents committed to the inheritance and innovation of the Yellow River Civilization, and launching the characteristics of the Central Plains, Chinese style, the achievements of the Yellow River Civilization of the Chinesemanner.The institute hires academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, academician of International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, department members of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, leaders of the National Plan for the Million People, Changjiang Scholars, winners of the National Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, a high-level, networked, and internationalized research team focusing on doctors, proposes the grand goal of creating a “the study of Yellow River” with Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, and Chinese manner.The institute established Henan Provincial Department of Science and Technology to jointly build a "Study of Yellow River " philosophy and social science research platform,established the Yellow River Branch in China Geography，established Henan Huaxia Culture ResearchAssociation,held the "study of Yellow River" series of high-level forums and the "Yellow River Civilization" lectures，established the "Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development" series，jointly with Peking University, Northwest University, Shandong Normal University, Henan Academy of Social Sciences, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Archaeology, Institute of History, Modern History, World Civilization Comparative Research Center, and Yellow River Conservancy Commission，established the Collaborative & Innovative Center of Yellow River Civilization Inheritance and Modern Civilization Construction.
Focusing on the construction of the “Study of Yellow River” discipline, focusing on the three major characteristics of “the Yellow River Civilization and transformation”, “system changes and economic development along the Yellow River region”, “Yellow River Ecology and sustainable development”, the Center has undertaken a number of national and Provincial and ministerial-level major and key projects produced a series of achievements including “60 Years of Development and Governance of the Yellow River”, “Historical Changes of the Yellow River Civilization”, and “Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development Library”.These strongly support the science of geography, applied economics, chinese history, archaeology and other disciplines of Chinese language and literature. It has been successfully approved by the first degree subject. Geography has become a dominant subject in Henan province. The the Yellow River Civilization discipline group has become a special subject in Henan province. Applied economics has become a science subject in the class of B in Henan province. The Central Plains city group, the Central Plains Economic Zone, the China (Henan) free trade test area and other countries' major strategic and spatial planning research, the service capacity of the government has been obviously enhanced, and the role of the national professionalization high-end think tank has been shown initially.
According to the center of " 13th Five-Year " development plan,as an opportunity to declare that a national collaborative innovation center,the institute will aim at academic frontiers and the national major strategic needs such as find root of chinese civilization, the modern transformation of the Yellow River Civilization and economic integration of the Yellow River ecological civilization construction and so on.By handing down stream of the Yellow River Civilization, modern transformation and sustainable development as the main line, with key subject, talent, key projects, the innovation achievements for traction, with emphasis on the mechanism reform, with big data platform construction and space-time integrated humanities and social science innovation as the breakthrough point, the institute will build the center into a distinctive, obvious advantage and the impact of the international "Study of Yellow River" highland of research , the Yellow River Civilization exchanges, dialogue, high-end platform, the modern transformation of the Yellow River Civilization decision-making consultation and education training base, the Yellow River ecological civilization construction specialized high-end think-tank gradually.
