Henan Provincial Museum (Henan Sheng Bowuguan) offers seven excellent permanent exhibits, a great opportunity to take in artifacts from Chinese culture and history dating back thousands of years. The exhibits are housed in an enormous glass pyramid situated at the end of Jingqi Lu. Its modern facilities and the technology used for many of the exhibits are first rate. Of particular interest are the Bronze Ware Hall and the Jade Ware Hall. An Audio Tour is available in Chinese, Japanese and English and interactive video shows. The museum also organizes regular exchange programs with foreign and domestic museums and some wonderful temporary exhibits make their way here.   There is also an exhibition here on the February 7th revolt in 1923, a strike by workers building the railway from Wuhan to Beijing that was brutally suppressed.   more >>

The middle stretch of the Yellow River (Huanghe) is often regarded by the Chinese as the origin of China's civilization, and the section running through Henan province is no exception, giving birth to numerous legends and home to various historic figures.   Along with its cultural significance, the river is also one of the most beautiful sights in Henan; its wide, silted waters meander through this region, a party to one of the most serious soil erosion situations in the world. The river's slow winding ways are deceptive, as well, and the Chinese here are quick to recognize the river's alter ego, a serious flooding force that ruins households and destroys lives on a fairly regular basis.   Historically, the river has also had its fair share of turbulence and calm. In 1938 Chiang Kaishek, generalissimo of the ruling Nationalist Party (Guomindang), in desperate attempt ... more >>

The Shang City Ruins (Shangcheng Yizhi), in Zhengzhou's eastern area, has weathered the centuries to become one of the city's most interesting attractions. The Shang Dynasty was one of the earliest recorded dynasties in Chinese history, and evidence suggests that this ancient city here was built as early as 1600 BC. Most famous for mysterious pictographic symbols, colorful bronze ware and several bloodthirsty kings, this is one of the earliest examples of Chinese urban life. Each Shang City, divided up into a central walled area, housed large governmental buildings surrounded by a ring of small villages. Each individual village would specialize in a specific product so that between all the villages a wide variety of products was covered, enabling each area to be self sufficient. Today, this area is more of a public park and walkway. The original walls were rough and uneven an... more >>

Although Buddhism has been the dominant religion in central China for centuries, Taoism, China's original religion, is still highly influential. City God Temples in townships throughout China are a good example of this influence. Such temples were built to honor and worship the gods who protect the urban area and its people.  The Zhengzhou Temple of the City God (Chenghuang miao) has unfortunately long lost its former magnificence and grandeur. The temple, built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), used to be a structure of imposing beauty, with many halls and grand gates. After many calamities and years of neglect, the temple has lost much of its function as a religious site. The rooms of the temple are now used for storage, for temporary art and culture exhibitions, and as a residence for the staff that live and work here. The Main Hall is particularly illustrative of ... more >>

Henan's Shaolin Temple is located approximately 85 km (53 mi) southwest of Zhengzhou's downtown area. Established in 520 AD by Indian monk, Tamo, the temple is dedicated to the study of Chan (sometimes called Zen or Ch'an) Buddhism and the mastery of martial arts-the variety of which has inspired the making of more than 170 movies, including a number of Hollywood flops.   The temple has been destroyed and rebuilt numerous times, most recently in 1928 when the monastery was set fire to. The fire raged for several weeks and destroyed most of the buildings and manuscripts stored within. The temple was rebuilt only to be plundered in 1966 during the Red Guard's rampage focusing on religious materials and artifacts.    Unfortunately Shaolin Temple, due to its fame throughout the Middle Kingdom, has become somewhat of a tourist trap these days with local hawkers settin... more >>