Zhengzhou, the capital city of Henan Province, is geographically
the center city of China. It is renowned as one of the eight historical capitals of China. Early as 3600 years ago, Zhengzhou was the capital of
the Shang Dynasty (1766 BC - 1050 BC). During the following
dynasties, it served as capital for four times. It is considered to
be the cradle of China's civilization.
It borders Yellow River to the north, Mount Songshan to the west
and Huanghuai Plaint to the southeast. Zhenzhou is the
transportation conjunction of Henan Province, as well as one of the
transportation hubs of China. It was called Zhongzhou in the ancient time, which means
the Transportation Hub of Ten Provinces. It is about 760 km (about
472 miles) south of Beijing and 480 kilometers (about 298 miles)
east of Xi'an. It just takes about one hour to get to Luoyang and
Kaifeng of Henan Province from Zhengzhou respectively, which are
both one of the eight historical Chinese capitals.
The tree of Zhengzhou, chinar is planted at both sides of the main
streets of the city, which wins Zhengzhou a title of the Green City
of Central China. The climate here is distinct with abundant
sunshine. The annual average temperature is 14.3℃. the highest
temperature reaches 43℃ in July. And the rain season is in July,
August and September. The coldest season is in January and the
lowest temperature reaches -17℃.
Over 3600 years long history endows Zhengzhou with plenty of historical and cultural relics. Henan Museum, one of the oldest museums in China, is a history
and art museum. It has a collection of more than 130,000 pieces of
cultural relics through the ages. Mount Songshan, located at
Dengfeng city (one county-level city of Zhengzhou), is one of the
Five Sacred Mountains of China. It is applying to be one of the
World Heritage Sites in China based on its natural beauty and
historical and cultural significance. Shaolin Temple, situated at
the food of Mount Songshan, is the birthplace of Shaolin Kungfu.
Chenjiagou, the cradle of Chinese Taiji Quan, is located at Jiaozuo
city, just one hour drive from Zhengzhou city. Both of them should
never be missed for Chinese Kung Fu enthusiasts. Loyal Family Tombs of the Song Dynasty are located at Gongyi (one
county-level city of Zhengzhou), whose large scale is rare in
China. Yinxu, the ruins of the last capital of China's Shang
Dynasty (1766 BC - 1050 BC), is one of the oldest and largest
archaeological sites in China and is one of the Historical capitals
of China and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is located near the
modern city of Anyang; just about two hours drive from Zhengzhou
city.
