Henan is the cradle of Chinese civilisation: the Yellow River bends through the plains where the earliest dynasties rose, and Shaolin's monks still train on Songshan. Central China's heartland — ancient, flat, and full of gods and ghosts.

What to See

Shaolin Temple is the birthplace of kung fu: at the foot of Mount Song, monks train among ancient cypresses, keeping a fifteen-hundred-year tradition of “Chan and martial arts as one.”

The Longmen Grottoes line the Yi River at Luoyang: a hundred thousand Buddhas carved into the cliffs, the great Vairocana smiling for a thousand years — most moving at dusk, when the crowds thin and the lights come on. And Kaifeng, the old capital of the Northern Song, replays a thousand-year-old city, with night markets full of steam and sizzle.

What to Eat

Huimian, the province's braised noodles, are served in a rich mutton broth with wide, hand-stretched ribbons. Soup dumplings are Kaifeng's pride — the first bite must be a careful sip of the hot broth. And hulatang, the peppery “paste soup” of the morning, is the definitive way to start a winter day in Zhengzhou.

Folk Customs

Practical Tips

Photos: Shaolin Temple, Longmen Grottoes — via Wikimedia Commons, CC-licensed. Licenses and authors available on the original file pages.