Henan Province: Travel to the birthplace of Chinese civilization

This article is a practical travel guide to visit Henan, the birth place of Chinese civilization and martial arts. Here you’ll find:

• Some basic info about Henan province.

• Why you should visit Henan.

• The places to visit in Henan (with information on how to get there, where to stay and what to do or see).

• Some general suggestions for traveling in Henan.

A bit of history and clichés

Henan (河南), with nearly 100 million inhabitants, is one of the most populated provinces of China. Since most of the population is composed by farmers, this is one of the poorest regions of the country. For these reasons, together with Shangdong, people from Henan are the most numerous emigrant population in Beijing.

If you ask Chinese people about Henan, a lot of them will say that it’s a poor area and its inhabitants are dishonest. If you then talk with people from this province, most of them will end up complaining that the central government doesn’t want the province to develop so that they can keep on producing food for the rest of the country. However, Henan is much more than all these clichés!

Henan is considered to be the birth place of Chinese civilization and was the China’s political, cultural and economic center until one thousand years ago, when the Song Dynasty collapsed. Even if the title of “Old Chinese Capital” belongs to Xi’an, looking at the list of the Great Ancient Capitals of China, half of them are situated in Henan (Kaifeng, Luoyang, Anyang and Zhengzhou).

Why should you visit Henan?

Even if Henan attracts many Chinese tourists, most international travelers don’t even know the existence of this province. So the question is: why should you visit Henan?

As I mentionned before, Henan is the birth place of Chinese culture and possesses plenty of interesting historical and natural sites. After Beijing, Henan is the Chinese province with more UNESCO World Heritage cultural sites in China.

Also, Henan is located between Beijing and Xi’an and the trains that join these two cities have several stops in this province. Thus, if you’re traveling along the popular Beijing-Xi’an-Shanghai route a stopover in Henan is quite convenient.

Finally, Henan is the birthplace of Tai Chi Chuan (太极拳) and the Shaolin Temple is located here. Therefore, if Chinese martial arts fascinate you, in Henan you’ll have the opportunity of learning more about their origin.

Places to visit in Henan

Longmen Grottoes a UNESCO world Heritage site, Luoyang

Luoyang (洛阳)

If you can only visit one place in Henan and you ask me where to go, I’d choose Luoyang. This ancient capital is extremely rich of culture and history and is believed to be the origin of Taoism. Also, here you can find the impressive Longmen Grottoes, an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

How to get there

• By plane: Luoyang has an airport located at 10 Km from the city center with regular flights coming from several Chinese cities.

• By train: Probably the most convenient way as Luoyang is a major stop in the high speed line Beijing-Xi’an.
  Source: http://www.saporedicina.com/english/travel-to-henan-province/