Circa 4,000 years ago, city was established in present downtown Huaibei. During the Xia (21st - 16th century BC) and Shang (16th - 11th century BC) dynasties, it was named as Xiangcheng governed by Xuzhou. In Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), it was the capital of the Pei State, and it was gradually declined since the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Huaibei is the main agriculture base for producing and exporting grain, cotton, and domestic animals. The main crops are wheat, maize, cotton, broad bean, rice, and potato. Livestocks include cattle, horse, pig, goat, rabbit, and domestic birds, etc. More than 200,000 mu (130 sq km) of land has been cultivated for fisheries that contain a large number of fish, shrimps, and crabs.