Experience the best of Zhengzhou

On the broad plain of central China, Zhengzhou stands on the south bank of the Yellow River. About 3,500 years ago a Shang dynasty city stood here, and stretches of its rammed-earth wall still rise among the modern streets. The Henan Museum holds the province's bronzes, jades and ceramics, and the city is one of China's busiest rail junctions, where the main north-south and east-west lines cross.

Shaolin Monastery, the birthplace of Shaolin kung fu, stands on Mount Song near Dengfeng to the south-west, with a forest of brick pagodas for its monks. Kaifeng, capital of the Northern Song dynasty, lies to the east, and Luoyang and the Longmen Grottoes are farther west. North of the city, the Yellow River Scenic Area has giant carved heads of the legendary Yan and Yellow emperors.

Braised noodles, wide hand-pulled ribbons in mutton broth, are the city's everyday meal, and Yellow River carp is cooked sweet and sour and served on crisp noodles. Morning stalls sell hulatang, a peppery thickened soup. Spring and autumn are the milder seasons; summers are hot and winters dry and cold.