China is one of the four countries with ancient civilization in the world. As one of the largest provinces of China, Henan province is the main birthplace of Chinese ancient culture due to its location on the Yellow River. The name of the province Henan comes from its geographic location. Henan means "the south of the Yellow River". Henan province covers an area of over 160,000 square kilometers, with nearly 100 million people. It borders Hebei to the north, Shangdong to the northeast, Anhui to the southeast, Hubei to the south, Shaanxi to the west, and Shanxi to the northwest. Henan is often called Zhongyuan, literally "central plains", this name is also broadly applied to the entire North China Plain.

On this amazing land, great civilizations had been created, ranging back in time to the Peiligang culture dating back to 8000 years, Yangshao culture dating back to 6000 years and Longshan culture dating back to 5000 years. Henan is home to three ancient capitals: Luoyang, Kaifeng and Anyang.

Traveling around Henan is absolutely a magical history tour to explore the profound Buddhist culture of China. Henan, with numerous sites, witnessed the initial blooming of Buddhist Temple in China. The White Horse Temple at Luoyang is likely the oldest Buddhist Temple in the country. The Longmen caves house a cool series of Buddhist statues, which were carved into cliff walls for over a kilometer along banks of river. When you're in Henan it's worth to visit Shaolin Temple, which the birthplace of Kung Fu. It's quite impressive to see groups of Kungfu students practicing or walking around everywhere.

It has many other historical sites, such as Taihao Grave, located in Huaiyang (a county in southeast of Henan), which is the mausoleum of Fuxishi, the Great Ancestor of China. And Xinzheng city is the native place of Yellow Emperor (a legendary ruler of China in remote antiquity).

There are many great and famous people from Henan. Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi, great thinkers and founders of Daoism of the late Spring and Autumn Period, are both from Henan. The world famous ancient scientist and astrologer Zhang Heng and the great musician of Zhu Zaiyu are also from Henan.

Peony has long been the national flower of China and has long figured largely in Chinese painting. Luoyang is the city of peonies, where you can see Peony Flower Festival in Summertime.

For tourists at home and abroad, especially those who seek with great enthusiasm the oriental culture and the headstream of Chinese civilization, Henan is just like an immense natural museum of history and a textbook of Chinese history which is visible, tangible and accessible. The beautiful natural sceneries and the glorious cultural connotations are rich and unique.

Henan is located in the transition belt from the subtropical zone to the temperate zone. It has a mild climate with an annual average temperature of 15.5â„?9.5â„?from south to north, a moderate annual rainfall of 1380.6-526.0 millimeters, and a frost-free period of 265-332 days. Henan also boasts a good number of famous, superior and special local products, such as Yuanyang rice; Kaifeng watermelon, Xixia kiwi fruits, Lingbao apples, Ningling pears and Xinyang chestnut; Zhongmu and Qixian garlic, Yongcheng green peppers; Luoyang peony, Yanling flowers. In addition, the well known Maojian tea and traditional Chinese herb medicines are also produced here.