Zhengzhou & Shaolin

A Central Plains hub and a place to trace the roots of Chinese civilization, centered on the Henan Museum, the Shang City ruins, Shaolin Temple on Mount Song and the "Center of Heaven and Earth" historic complex.

Zhengzhou is the capital of Henan Province, on the south bank of the Yellow River in the heart of the Central Plains. It is a hub of China's grid-shaped high-speed rail network, 2–4 hours by high-speed train from Beijing, Xi'an, Wuhan and Shanghai. It is an important cradle of Chinese civilization: the city holds the ruins of a 3,600-year-old Shang dynasty capital and the 5,000-year-old Yangshao settlement at Dahecun, and the Henan Museum gathers bronzes, jades and painted pottery excavated across the province. About 70 km to the southwest, Dengfeng is home to the UNESCO World Heritage "Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in the Center of Heaven and Earth", including Shaolin Temple, Songyang Academy, Zhongyue Temple, the Observatory and Songyue Temple Pagoda. Sightseeing falls into four areas: first, the urban area – the Henan Museum, Zhengzhou Museum, the Shang City ruins and the City God Temple, Erqi Square and the Zhengdong New Area CBD at night, plus the Yellow River Cultural Park and Huayuankou to the north; second, Dengfeng and Mount Song – Shaolin Temple, Sanhuangzhai, Mount Taishi and the "Center of Heaven and Earth" complex, with the Zen Shaolin Music Ritual show in the evening; third, Gongyi to the west – Kang Baiwan Manor, Du Fu's hometown, the Song imperial tombs and the Shiku Temple grottoes; fourth, Xinzheng to the south – the Yellow Emperor's Hometown and the Yellow Emperor Eternal Love show. Only Henan · Drama Town in Zhongmu is closer to Kaifeng and is covered under the Kaifeng destination. The climate is temperate monsoon: April–May and September–October are the most comfortable, July–August is muggy and rainy, and winter is cold and dry. Xinzheng International Airport has a suburban railway and metro running directly into the city, Zhengzhou East is the main high-speed rail station, and the metro reaches the main sights; to Dengfeng, take a bus (about 1.5 hours). We recommend 3–4 days, and you can combine the trip with Kaifeng (about 20 minutes by high-speed train) or Luoyang. The Henan Museum and similar venues require advance reservations with real-name registration; for breakfast, try hulatang (spicy soup), stewed noodles (huimian) and fried dough (youmotou).

Top sights

Where to eat

Itineraries