The name of the Henan Province comes from its geographic situation that means south of the Yellow River. The province covers an area of over 160,000 sq km with 92,560,000 people that include Han, Hui, Manchu, Mongolian and other ethnic groups. Due to its location on the Yellow River, Henan province is considered the cradle of Chinese civilisation and boasts rich historic heritage. Among its popular treasures are:
Luoyang
Luoyang has been the capital for nine dynasties since Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770BC-221BC) and is one of the seven ancient capital cities in China’s history. It is located in the west of Henan Province, covers total area of 15,208 sq km and a population of 6.10 million.
Longmen Grottoes
The world-famous Longmen Grottoes are located 12km south of Luoyang. Those grottoes contain the largest and most impressive collections of Chinese art from late Northern Wei to Tang Dynasties (316-907). These art pieces are devoted to the Buddhist religion and represent the high point of Chinese stone carving.
White Horse Temple
It is known as Baima Temple in Chinese. The White Horse Temple was established in 68AD Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) and is located 12km away from Luoyang City. This temple is believed to be the first Buddhist temple built by the government in China when the Buddhism began to spread across the country.
Shaolin Temple
Shaolin Temple, regarded as the birthplace of Chinese Buddhism and famous for the Shaolin martial arts, is located 50 miles southwest of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province. It was originally built in 496AD during the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-543). Shaolin Temple was built in honour of an Indian monk called Bodhidharma (known as Da Mo in Chinese) who is the founder of the Mahayana sect of Buddhism (popularly known as Chinese 'Chan’ or 'Zen’ Buddhism).
Shaolin monks
Martial Arts
Chinese Martial Arts are known as the Wu Shu or Kung Fu in Chinese and are one of the typical demonstrations of traditional Chinese culture. The Martial Arts are distinguished by being 'external’ and 'internal’. The skills of Chinese martial arts consist of various forms of fighting. There are over hundreds of schools of Chinese Martial Arts and each school has its own individual style.
Luoyang Peonies Festival
The peony is a traditional flower in China (similar to the rose in the UK) with titles such as "King of the Flower Kingdom" and "Luoyang Peony Ranking the First under Heaven". In 1982, Luoyang Peony was defined as the city flower and a decision was made to hold an annual peony fair festival in Luoyang from April 15 to 25.
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