Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province, has a
venerated history of over 3,000 years. The Beijing-Guangzhou and
Lanzhou-Lianyungang railways cross their ways in Zhengzhou, turning
it into a major railway hub.
Major attractions: ruins of a Shang-dynasty city,
Henan Museum, Yellow River Tourist Zone, and Monument to February 7
Workers' Uprising. Dengfeng, a city under Zhengzhou's jurisdiction,
is known for Mount Songshan, a holy mountain in central China, and
Shaolin Temple. Mount Songshan comprises Taishi and Shaoshi
mountains, and among its sites of historical and cultural interest
are a Yuan-dynasty observatory built some 700 years ago, China's
oldest brick pagoda in Songyue Temple, and the Songyang Academy, one
of the four major academies in ancient China. Built in 495 during
the Northern Wei as the ancestral sanctuary of the Ch'an Sect of
Chinese Buddhism, Shaolin Temple on the northern side of Shaoshi
Mountain has made a name for itself for its martial arts, stone
inscriptions of various dynasties, and Ming-dynasty murals.
To the west of the temple is a forest of 243
brick-and-masonry pagodas built during 1 1,000-year span from the
Tang to Qing dynasties. Gongyi, a city 80 km west of Zhengzhou, is
the site of a mausoleum buried with the remains of 7 of the 9
Northern-Song emperors. Xinzheng, a city 40km south of Zhengzhou,
was the native place of the Yellow Emperor. |
