Located just north of the province's center and south of the Yellow River, Zhengzhou borders Luoyang to the west, Jiaozuo to the northwest, Xinxiang to the northeast, Kaifeng to the east, Xuchang to the southeast, and Pingdingshan to the southwest.
Zhengzhou is situated to the south of the Yellow River where its valley broadens into the great plain and at the eastern extremity of the Xionger Mountains. Zhengzhou is at the crossing point of the north–south route skirting the Taihang Mountains and the mountains of western Henan and the east–west route along the southern bank of the Yellow River.
With a long history, Zhengzhou is a national famous historical and cultural city ratified by the State Council. It was an important metropolis during the Shang dynasty as early as 3500 years ago and became a capital during the five dynasties of Xia, Shang, Guan, Zheng, and Han, and a prefecture during the eight dynasties of Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming, and Qing. The long history and brilliant civilization have made Zhengzhou rich in humanistic scenery, where there are 137 key protective units at national or provincial levels, including 26 units with 28 items of national key protective units. Places of interest with their unique charms are dawning interests and attentions of tourists from all over the world such as the Songshan Scenic Spots with Shaolin Temple, Central Holy Temple and Songshan National Forest Park as its highlight; the Yellow River Historical, Cultural and Relics Scenic Spots with the Yellow River Excursion Center, Yellow River Grand View and Dahe Village Primitive Village Remains; and Fuxi Mountain, Huancui Valley, North Song Dynasty's Imperial Tombs, North Wei's Grotto Temple, the birthplace of the Chinese Forefather Emperor Huangdi and the birthplace of famous ancient poet Dufu .
Zhengzhou is a flat industrial city set amid the farmland of the central China plain. While it is not a tourist city, it is a good example of a remarkably fast-changing city in China without some of the tourism clutter. Note: Finding people to speak English can be a challenge sometimes so come prepared with some Chinese Language or the places you wish to go to written down for taxi drivers.
The best known tourist attraction is Shaolin Temple, which is about more than 50 miles southwest of Zhengzhou. Shaolin Temple is famous not only as one of China's important Buddhist shrines, but also as the ancient center of Chinese kung-fu. Built in 495, the temple was originally designed to house Batuo, a celebrated Indian monk, who, after many years of spreading Buddhism, was later known as Fo Tuo, or Grand Monk. In 537, another famous Indian monk, Boddhidharma, settled in the temple, and as legend has it, created a sort of primitive bare-hand combat routine called “xingyi boxing” after he had sat meditating in a cave for nine years. That started the kung-fu tradition at the temple
Henan MuseumZhengzhou's most notable cultural institution is the Henan Museum, one of China's most important museums. The provincial museum in particular requires at least a half day visit to do justice to the many impressive exhibits, which range from prehistoric times, including dinosaur bones, up through the Qing Dynasty. The admission price was 20 yuan, but has now been made free of charge.
Zhengzhou has a zoo: located on Hua Yuan Lu. The Erqi Memorial Tower is located in the city center.
Zheng Dong New District There are the remains of the Shang Dynasty Ruins in Zhengzhou's west side located around Shangcheng lu. Mostly this consists of a 5,000 year old dirt wall which formed part of the old city's defenses. While it is a good walk, do not expect to find many other relics of this time; additionally, the city wall is cut in three places by new roads that have been built recently.
There is a large water, light, and music show on display in Zheng Dong Xin Qu (New Eastern District) during the weekend at 8.30 pm in the summer and 8.00 pm during the winter months. The show is about 25 minutes long and is free of charge. Arrive before 8.00 for a seat; the show times do change from 8.00 and 8.30 without warning.
