CHINA – CENTRE EAST I

Day 11 Fri June 30
Flight. China Eastern Yinchuan T3 – Taiyuan @11:30-13:00 MU9954 CA$171 (the train was a slow train, took 8 hours and was fully booked with standing room only, so my only real choice was to fly). I was upgraded for free to a business-class seat. I have never flown business class before.
I was driven to the Yinchuan Airport by the same taxi driver who I used all afternoon yesterday – all for 300¥ (about $42, a good deal compared to Canadian taxis).

These are several provinces South West, South and South East of Beijing 
CHINA – SHANXI SOUTH (Taiyuan, Yuncheng, Yangquan, Luliang)
I arrived at 1 pm,
TAIYUAN (pop 5,390,957) is the capital, political, economic, cultural, international exchange center and largest city of Shanxi Province. It is an industrial base focusing on energy and heavy chemicals. Throughout its long history, Taiyuan was the capital or provisional capital of many dynasties in China, hence the name Lóngchéng (龙城; Dragon City). Taiyuan is located roughly in the centre of Shanxi, with the Fen River flowing through the central city where it enters a relatively flat plain.
Taiyuan belongs to the warm temperate continental monsoon climate, with long, dry and cold winters, hot and humid summers, short and windy spring and autumn, and distinct dry and wet seasons.
History. Taiyuan is an ancient city with more than 2500 years of urban history, dating back from 497 BC. It was the capital or secondary capital of Zhao, Former Qin, Eastern Wei, Northern Qi, Northern Jin, Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, Northern Han. Its strategic location and rich history make Taiyuan one of the economic, political, military, and cultural centers of Northern China.
The Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan in 1218 conquered the area. Kublai Khan established the Yuan dynasty in 1271. The Taoist Longshan Grottoes was built in the early Yuan dynasty.
After 1949. Taiyuan flourished with extensive industrial development. It was linked by rail both to the far southwest of Shanxi and to Datong in the north. By 1936 Taiyuan became a gathering point for anti-Japanese intellectuals who had fled from Beijing, Tianjin, and Northeast China. From the Japanese occupation of Taiyuan to the Japanese surrender in 1945, the Japanese continued to exploit Taiyuan’s industries and resources to supply the Japanese army. After the Japanese army in Shanxi surrendered, 10,000–15,000 Japanese troops decided to fight for Yan rather than return to Japan.
Taiyuan was the last area in Shanxi to resist Communist control during the final stages of the Chinese Civil War after they surrounded Taiyuan and cut it off from all means of land and air supply, requiring 1,300 pieces of artillery. Many Nationalist officers committed suicide when the city fell to a Communist army.
Economy. Taiyuan is abundant in natural resources such as coal, iron, marble, silica, bauxite, limestone, graphite, quartz, phosphorus, gypsum, mica, copper, and gold. Trees include coniferous forest, pine, white pine, spruce, and cypress.^[32]
Taiyuan had suffered from severe air pollution. The city has created a “coal-free zone” of 1,460 km² in 2017 that prevents buying, selling, storing, transporting, burning, or using coal. Shanxi produces a quarter of China’s coal.
Transportation. Taiyuan is one of the transportation hubs in North China. The main high-speed railway station is Taiyuan South railway station. The conventional-speed Taiyuan–Zhongwei–Yinchuan railway, opened in 2011, provides a direct connection with western Shanxi, northern Shaanxi, Ningxia, and points further west.
I arrived at 1pm and took the airport bus (10¥) into Taiyuan. For some reason, all my NM destinations are not recording on GM, but I was able to take the bus to near the farthest sites. Taiyuan has no rental scooters and it took me a while to get a bicycle, but they are small and not very efficient. I cycled to Chongshan Temple and then the 5.8km to the museum but it was slow going.
Taiyuan Station. The slow train station, now used on only for slow trains. It is an unassuming building with a corner clock tower. An old lady begged for money, the first time I have been begged in China. 
Chongshan Temple. Another large Buddhist temple complex behind a high red wall. Several temples with the usual OTT eaves and roof lines.
Shanxi Museum. Another gorgeous building with out sloping walls. 2 floors of good exhibits with an emphasis on Taiyuans long dynastic and capital history, archaeology, ethnicity and the coal industry. Free

I booked the high speed train from Taiyuan to Luoyang @15:59-18:42 (stopover in Zhengzhou) 19:30-20:07 but miscalculated the distance back to the train station. The taxi driver would not go faster, I entered the station with just enough time to get the train but could not find the gate. Just as finally did, I arrived to watch the train depart.
I made another booking – only slow trains were available @23:19-11:17 – 11′ 58″+1 with a soft berth. I actually only lose a few hours. I saved on an expensive hotel room as I had not made the booking yet.
I then got a paper ticket and was glad I did. When I reentered Taiyuan South Station and showed the ticket, the agent told me it was for Taiyuan Station, the old train station for slow trains. When I was looking for a taxi, the first guy said 80, a ridiculous price. The next guy took me there for 30¥. At 7 pm, the traffic was the busiest I have seen in China so far.
I also now had over 4 hours to kill at the train station and 12 hours on the train, but I always have lots to do. I still had enough time to get back to Beijing on the 4th to catch my flight on the 5th and still see what I wanted to do.
Tiayuan Station had a throng of people with hundreds of chairs but all were occupied. I sat on the floor.
First class, soft sleeper, upper berth. These are well-air-conditioned and make for a very pleasant sleep.
==========================================================

Day 12 Sat Jul 1
I arrived in Luoyang at 11:30 and found a rental scooter outside the train station. I started to go to Luoyang Ancient Art Museum, China’s only tomb museum, but it was 8 km away. About halfway there, the scooter talked to me several times and Hello phone but I understood nothing. The battery was full, so I continued. Then all power disappeared. I asked a passing driver what the issue was and I was outside the range of the scooter. I pushed it back until I was within range and it started again. 
CHINA – HENAN NORTH (Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Xuchang, Shangqiu)
LUOYANG (pop 6,888,500, metro 2,751,400) Located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east. Situated on the central plain of China, Luoyang is among the oldest cities in China and one of the cradles of Chinese civilization. It is the earliest of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. In the centre of the Grand Canal and the beginning of the Silk Road, it was the ideal commercial centre of China. There is much-rugged land – mountains comprise 45.51% of the total area; hills, 40.73%; and plains, 13.8%.
History. The greater Luoyang area has been sacred ground since the late Neolithic period. This area was considered to be the geographical center of China. In 2070 BC, the Xia dynasty moved the Xia capital. In 1600 BC, Tang of Shang defeated the final Xia dynasty king and built Western Bo, (西亳), a new capital.
The Eastern Han dynasty capital of Luoyang would be built over the ruins of Wangcheng, which are still visible today at Wangcheng Park. In 25 AD, Luoyang was declared the capital of the Eastern Han dynasty. In 56, the main imperial observatory, the Spiritual Terrace, was constructed.
For several centuries, Luoyang was the focal point of China. In AD 68, the White Horse Temple, the first Buddhist temple in China, was founded in Luoyang. The temple still exists, though the architecture is of later origin, mainly from the 16th century. Luoyang became the start of Silk Road. In 166 AD, the first Roman mission reached Luoyang after arriving by sea in Rinan Commandery in what is now central Vietnam. In 189 AD, the city was burnt.
The Longmen Grottoes south of the city were listed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in November 2000. Guanlin—a series of temples built in honour of Guan Yu, a hero of the Three Kingdoms period—is nearby. The White Horse Temple is located 12 km (7.5 mi) east of the modern town.
Gaocheng Astronomical Observatory (also known as the Dengfeng Observatory or the Tower of Chou Kong) stands 80 km (50 mi) southeast of Luoyang. It was constructed in 1276 during the Yuan dynasty by Guo Shoujing as a giant gnomon for “the measurement of the sun’s shadow”. Prior to the Jesuit China Missions, it was used for establishing the summer and winter solstices in traditional Chinese astronomy.
In 422, Luoyang was captured by Northern Wei. In 493 AD, and moved their capital to Luoyang and started the construction of the rock-cut Longmen Grottoes. More than 30,000 Buddhist statues from the time of this dynasty have been found in the caves. Many of these sculptures were two-faced. The Yongning Temple (永宁寺), the tallest pagoda in China, was also built in Luoyang.
During the Tang dynasty, at its height had a population of around one million, second only to Chang’an, which, at the time, was the largest city in the world. During an interval in the Tang dynasty, the first and the only empress in Chinese history – Empress Wu, moved the capital of her Zhou dynasty to Luoyang.
Since the Yuan dynasty, Luoyang was no longer the capital of China. During the Yuan and Ming dynasties, Luoyang was razed and rebuilt twice. Its walls were destroyed by peasant rebels in the late Ming period. The city walls were then rebuilt during the Qing dynasty. The population was reduced to that of an average county. However, for one last time, Luoyang City was the capital of the Republic of China for a brief period of time during the Japanese invasion. By 1949, Luoyang’s population was 75,000.
People’s Republic of China. Luoyang was revived as a major heavy industrial hub with Soviet-aided major industrial programmes (Dongfanghong Tractor Factory, Luoyang Mining Machines Factory Luoyang Bearing Factory and later, Luoyang Glass Factory.
WHS: Longmen Grottoes (2000), The Grand Canal – Huiluo Barn, Hanjia Barn (2014) and Silk Roads – Han Wei Luoyang City Site, Dingding Gate Site of Sui Tang Luoyang City, Xin’an Hangu Guan Site (2014).
Luoyang is celebrated for the cultivation of peonies, its city flower.

Luoyang Zhouwangcheng. (Six Horses Carriage Monument). This grand statue is in a park on a plinth covered in nice bas-reliefs. There are 6 bronze horses all rearing up with an unattached carriage behind.
Luoyang Museum. Ancient relics dating back to the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties. In another grand building, the lovely modern interior is all marble and packed with people on a Saturday. Great exhibits on the 13 dynasties who had their capital here. Many stone pieces, Buddhism, and a lot of pottery. Free (leave pack outside and have photo taken inside.
White Horse Temple. I didn’t go as it is a long way out of the way. This is China’s first Buddhist temple.

After the monument, I wanted to take the scooter to the Grottoes, but the same range limit occurred, I parked the bike and took a taxi.
LONGMEN GROTTOES WHS. The grottoes and niches of Longmen contain the largest and most impressive collection of Chinese art of the late Northern Wei and Tang Dynasties (316-907). These works, entirely devoted to the Buddhist religion, represent the high point of Chinese stone carving. The Longmen Grottoes, located on both sides of the Yi River to the south of the ancient capital of Luoyang, comprise more than 2,300 caves and niches carved into the steep limestone cliffs over a 1km long stretch. These contain almost 110,000 Buddhist stone statues, more than 60 stupas and 2,800 inscriptions carved on steles.
Luoyang was the capital during the late Northern Wei Dynasty and early Tang Dynasty, and the most intensive period of carving dates from the end of the 5th century to the mid-8th century. The earliest caves include Guangdong and the Three Binyang Caves, all containing large Buddha figures. Yaofangdong Cave contains 140 inscriptions recording treatments for various diseases and illnesses. Work on the sculpture in this cave continued over a 150 year period, illustrating changes in artistic style. The caves of the Tang Dynasty in the 7th and 8th centuries, particularly the giant sculptures in the Fengxiansi Cave are the most fully representative examples of the Royal Cave Temples’ art.
The caves, stone statues, steles and inscriptions scattered in the East Hill and West Hill at Longmen have been well preserved. The area retains their natural landscapes and the ecological environment that has existed since the late 5th century.
Guanlin—a series of temples built in honour of Guan Yu, a hero of the Three Kingdoms period—is nearby. The White Horse Temple is located 12 km (7.5 mi) east of the modern town.
My experience. Walk a ways, buy a ticket to the right of the turnstiles and walk down to the river. Pass several caves with Buddha images, a few large but many in small cut-out alcoves. The best is a finely carved huge figure surrounded by 4 large intricately carved “dancers”. There are 3 separate climbs upstairs to pass several collections of caves. Eventually exit, cross the bridge and continue back on the other side. There are some caves here but not worth going to as they add little to the experience. Cross another large stone bridge back to the other side and exit. 90¥, no reduction.
I then caught a taxi to the Longmen bus station to learn that there were neither buses nor trains to Dengfeng and only taxis. It was 230¥ for the 110km drive. I had booked to stay at the Holiday Inn Express Dengfeng Downtown, but when I arrived, I was informed that they don’t accept foreigners, the first Holiday Inn Express that didn’t (she said that only 5-star hotels accepted foreigners). The staff were great and organized a new hotel. The taxi didn’t charge me and I assume the hotel paid for it.
ON Jinpeng Ecology Hotel. Very high-end, attractive hotel with a balcony, desk and a few unnecessary extras. Their credit card machine didn’t work, the staff still didn’t speak English. I whined a lot about the hotel policy. They hate to hear it when people don’t like China. I believe they gave me a very good rate of 398¥.

Day 13 Sun July 2
Up early for BF at 7, I left ASAP for the Shaolin Temple. Dengfeng sits at the base of Mt Songshang to the north  – very tall, craggy limestone peaks with multiple sub-peaks. Bits of white limestone stand out between the green trees.
The taxi took me to Zhongyue Temple first and then Shaolin Temple, 28 km away located in the centre of the mountains.

HISTORIC MONUMENTS OF DENGFENG IN “THE CENTRE OF HEAVEN AND AND EARTH. WHS 
Mount Songshang (Mount Shaoshi and Mount Taishi are the two peaks of Mount Songshan), it is considered to be the central sacred mountain of China. Worship of Mount Songshan was used by the Emperors as a way of reinforcing their power. At the foot of this 1500 metre high mountain, close to the city of Dengfeng, and spread over a 40 square-kilometre circle, stand eight clusters of buildings and sites, including three Han Que gates – remains of the oldest religious edifices in China -,temples, the Zhougong Sundial Platform and the Dengfeng Observatory. Constructed over the course of nine dynasties, these buildings are reflections of different ways of perceiving the centre of heaven and earth and the power of the mountain as a centre for religious devotion – the only point where astronomical observations were considered to be accurate. The historical monuments of Dengfeng include some of the best examples of ancient Chinese buildings devoted to ritual, science, technology and education.
Some of the sites in the nominated area relate closely to the mountain (Zhongyue Temple, Taishi Que and Shaoshi Que)
Zhongyue Temple is a Taoist temple covering a total area of 110,000 square meters, it is the largest and best preserved ancient architectural complex among all the buildings located on China’s Five Great Mountains. The temple was first built in the Qin Dynasty (221BC-207BC). It was rebuilt again under the reign of Emperor Qianlong in Qing Dynasty and still remains unchanged in style and size since that time.
It is located at the southern foot of Songshan Mountain, about 4 kilometres east of Dengfeng City.
Numerous cultural relics are here – more than 400 ancient buildings of Qing Royal Palace Style including halls, palaces, towers, cabinets, lanes, pavilions, platforms, porches and yards, to 335 cypresses planted since the Han to the Song Dynasties.
Built in the year 118, Taishi Towers are 3.92m high and the symbolic gate of Zhongyue Temple with carving on four sides of 50 pictures of people, horses and carriages, sword dances, dragons, tigers, tortoises, elephants, goat heads and so on.
Pass the Mid-Heaven Pavilion, Treasure Shrine. with the four winds figures, statues of four iron generals (each 3m high and weighing 3 tons), Wenchang Temple, many stelae, Jungi Gate, and finally Jungi Hall, the main temple and largest wood building in Henan. There is a lot of incense and coloured foil burning, fruit to donate to the temples and side buildings. 40¥
Shaolin Temple is a renowned monastic institution recognized as the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and the cradle of Shaolin Kung Fu. It is located at the foot of Wuru Peak of the Songshan mountain range in Dengfeng. Mount Song occupied a prominent position among Chinese sacred mountains as early as the 1st century BC when it was proclaimed one of the Five Holy Peaks. It is located some 48 km southeast of Luoyang, the former capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386–534), and 72 km (45 mi) southwest of Zhengzhou, the modern capital of Henan Province.
As the first Shaolin abbot, Batuo devoted himself to translating Buddhist scriptures and to preaching doctrines to hundreds of his followers. According to legend, Bodhidharma, the 28th patriarch of Mahayana Buddhism in India, arrived at the Shaolin Temple in 527. He spent nine years meditating in a cave of the Wuru Peak and initiated the Chinese Chan tradition at the Shaolin Temple.
Apart from its contribution to the development of Chinese Buddhism, as well as for its historical, cultural, and artistic heritage, the temple is famous for its martial arts tradition. Shaolin monks have been devoted to research, creation, and continuous development and perfecting of Shaolin kung fu.
The main pillars of Shaolin culture are Chan Buddhism, martial arts, Buddhist art, and traditional Chinese medicine. Shaolin culture has spread around the world as a distinctive symbol of Chinese culture and a means of foreign cultural exchange.
Seeing the temple. Buy a ticket (70¥) next to Luckin Coffee, cross security and take a golf cart to the end (15¥) as it is a long walk with little to see (it was also raining). See the Talin Buddha Pagoda Forest with 248 stupas from 7 dynasties. They are 3-7 tiered brick stupas with a small stone plaque indicating the eminent monk buried in it.
Walk 300m downhill to the temple complex. Pass the Ancestral Hall, Devai Hall (with large Heavenly Guardians – colourful figures from each compass direction), a temple with a reclining woman and the final temple with a dark Buddha and art covering all the walls.

The taxi driver then took me to the Dengfeng bus station for Zhengzhou – ticket 25¥. I paid him 220¥ for the morning’s drive and waiting for me at each site. I had lost all my data and 4 young teenagers helped me top up my China Mobile account. I had thought that I had a lot remaining as I had bought 30GB for 30 days but it appears to have been only 14 days. The bus cost 25¥ instead of 280 for a taxi.

ZHENGZHOU (pop 10,260,667, metro 12,600,574) is the capital and largest city of Henan Province. The city lies on the southern bank of the Yellow River. Zhengzhou is a major hub of China’s national transportation network. Zhengzhou is a major city for scientific research and home to several national key universities in China.
History. The Shang dynasty was here in 1600BC. This prehistorical city had become abandoned as ruins long before the First Emperor of China in 260 BC. In 605 it was first called Zhengzhou. It achieved its greatest importance under the Sui (AD 581–618), Tang (618–907), and early Song (960–1127) dynasties, when it was the terminus of the New Bian Canal, which joined the Yellow River to the northwest.
In 1903 the Beijing–Hankou Railway arrived at Zhengzhou, Zhengzhou became a major rail junction and a regional center for cotton, grain, peanuts, and other agricultural produce. Early in 1923 a workers’ strike began in Zhengzhou and spread along the rail line before it was suppressed; a 14-story double tower in the center of the city commemorates the strike. On June 10, 1938, Chiang Kai-shek’s National Revolutionary Army opened up the dikes retaining the Yellow River at Huayuankou between Zhengzhou and Kaifeng, in an effort to stem the tide of invading Japanese; however, the ensuing 1938 Yellow River flood also killed hundreds of thousands of Chinese.
Economy. Zhengzhou also has a locomotive and rolling-stock repair plant, a tractor-assembly plant, and a thermal generating station. The city’s industrial growth has resulted in a large increase in the population, coming predominantly from industrial workers from the north. A water diversion project and pumping station, built in 1972, has provided irrigation for the surrounding countryside. The city has an agricultural university.
In July 2021, record-breaking floods left over a million people displaced and at least 300 people dead.
Geography. Located just north of the province’s centre and south of the Yellow River, Zhengzhou is situated in the transitional zone between the North China Plain to the east and the Song Mountains and Xionger Mountains to the west,
Climate. A monsoon-influenced, four-season humid subtropical climate with cool, dry winters and hot, humid summers. Temperature range 1.0 °C in January to 27.8 °C in July.
Rainfall is primarily during summer with an annual precipitation of 25 in.

I caught a taxi with a woman driver, put in Henan Museum in GT and she agreed. She then continued to show and talk to me in Mandarin. I told her that I didn’t speak or read Mandarin and had to use GT. She continued to use Mandarin. I got so fed up, I lost it and left the taxi. She got out and continued to yell at me. I yelled at her. A guy on the sidewalk told me to leave China. What a mess. I then got another woman taxi driver, possibly the worst driver I have ever been with but she took me to the museum – so easy. 
Henan Provincial Museum. Another architecturally gorgeous building shaped like a pyramid. Inside are 2 floors of 4 halls each showing the artifacts of several dynasties. The highlight was the jade suit used to buy a king in. Free
Zhongyuan Tower (Henan Radio and Television Tower or “Tower of Fortune”). In the NM Architectural Delight series, it is a multi-functional commercial, artistic and cultural center integrating radio and television broadcasting, tourism, cross-border trade, cultural performance, catering and leisure. The tower measures 268 metres (879 ft) high and the top antenna is 120 metres (390 ft) high, with a total height of 388 m. It is the world’s second tallest steel tower after the Tokyo Skytree.
It required 22,000 tons of steel treated with hot-dip galvanized fluorocarbon paint technology with 850,000 high-strength bolts.
The outer surface is a hyperbolic parabola that looks like a plum blossom with five petals. The shape of the tower base is like a tripod, The first floor of the base houses the Henan cross-border trade exhibition and trading center. The second floor is 6.9 meters high, with a VIP hall, press conference hall, tourist service center and other supporting facilities. Third and fourth floors of the tower host the largest panoramic painting in the world, “Jinxiu Zhongyuan”. The ninety-seventh floor of the tower has sightseeing service facilities. The 98th floor is 255 meters above the ground, and a revolving restaurant is located there.
It was built between 2006 to 2009.

Train. Zhengzhou East to Anyang East @18:55-19:30 93¥ First class as all the 2nd class seats were sold out
ON Anyang Wanda Realm. A 5-star hotel as there were no Holiday Inn Express hotels and I was worried it might not accept foreigners. 500¥

ANYANG (pop 5,477,614, metro 2,675,523) The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the east, Hebi and Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei to its west and north respectively.|Anyang is the location of the ancient city of Yin, which was the capital of the Shang dynasty and the first stable capital of China. Henan once had the largest population in China.
History. Around 2000 BC, the legendary sage-kings Zhuanxu and Emperor Ku are said to have established their capitals in the area around Anyang from where they ruled their kingdoms. Today their mausoleums are situated in Sanyang village south of Neihuang County.
At the beginning of the 14th century BC, King Pangeng of the Shang Dynasty established his capital 2 km (1.2 mi) north of the modern city on the banks of the Huan River.^[3] The city, known as Yin, was the first stable capital in Chinese history and from that point on the dynasty that founded it would also become known as the Yin Dynasty.
The capital served 12 kings in 8 generations including Wu Ding, under whom the dynasty reached the zenith of its power, until it was wiped out along with the dynasty that was founded by King Wu of the Zhou in 1046 BC.

Day 14 Mon July 3
I was up early to see Yin Xu and then continued on by train to Shijiazhuang, Heibei South.
YIN XU WHS. The archaeological site of Yin Xu, close to Anyang City, some 500 km south of Beijing, is an ancient capital city of the late Shang Dynasty (1300 – 1046 BC). It testifies to the golden age of early Chinese culture, crafts and sciences, a time of great prosperity of the Chinese Bronze Age. Several royal tombs and palaces, prototypes of later Chinese architecture, have been unearthed on the site, including the Palace and Royal Ancestral Shrines Area, with more than 80 house foundations, and the only tomb of a member of the royal family of the Shang Dynasty to have remained intact, the Tomb of Fu Hao. The large number and superb craftsmanship of the burial accessories found there bear testimony to the advanced level of the Shang crafts industry. Inscriptions on oracle bones found in Yin Xu bear invaluable testimony to the development of one of the world’s oldest writing systems, ancient beliefs and social systems.