Puyang (pú yáng 濮阳) is located in the northeast of Henan Province (hé nán shěng 河南省) on the lower reaches of the Yellow River. Within the province, it neighbors Xinxiang (xīn xiāng 新乡) in the southwest and Anyang (ān yáng 安阳) in the west. It is also bounded on the east by Shandong Province (shān dōng shěng 山东省) and neighbours Hebei Province (hé běi shěng 河北省) in the north.

Overview

Situated in the northeast of the Henan Province, Puyang is at the juncture place of Henan, Shandong and Hebei Province. It neighbors Anyang City to the east, borders Shandong and Hebei Province to the east, south and north. Puyang is a new modern petrochemical city in China. It covers a total area of 4,266 square kilometers with a population of 3.267 million. 

Puyang is honored with many titles: a petrol-chemical city, a national sanitation city, a national garden city, an excellent tourism city, an international garden city. It has jurisdiction over five counties and one district, namely Puyang County, Qingfeng County, Nanle County, Fanxian County, Taiqian County and the Urban District.


History

The city was called Diqiu (dì qiū 帝丘) in ancient times. During the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) it was the political, economic, and cultural city of the Wei Kingdom for four hundred years. The name of Puyang came into use following the Warring States Period (476-221 BC). The First Dragon in China, which was piled up with mussel shells 6,400 years ago, was discovered in 1987 in Xishuipo, hence Puyang is reputed to be the birthplace of Chinese dragon culture.

A time-honored city in Henan Province, Puyang abounds with its historical and cultural heritage, and is widely acclaimed as one of the birthplaces of the Chinese nation. The Book of Songs, the earliest collection of verses in China, has devoted many poems to depicting the busy scenes of the countryside. In history, a myriad of figures have emerged from Puyang, which lends great glory to this place of simple folkways. Among them are Cang Xie, the inventor of Chinese characters, Wu Qi, a military strategist, Shang Yang, a statesman, Lv Buwei, a great thinker, to name only a few. Puyang is also a renowned ancient battlefield where a lot of major events and wars had occurred.

In 1987, a historical relic, made up of a series of clams arranged in dragon patterns, was unearthed. The valuable discovery, which could be dated back to more than 6,400 years ago, had pushed forward the history of Chinese civilization for over 1,400 years, and therefore earned itself an international reputation of "the First Dragon of China". The Chinese Yanhuang Culture Researching Association has accordingly named Puyang "the Hometown of Chinese Dragons". Abundant heritage along with a long history has endowed Puyang with plenty of tourism resources, which is certainly of great investment value.


Geographic and climatic features

Puyang is a part of the Yellow River alluvial plain. Its terrain is relatively flat and gently declines from the southwest to the northeast. The siltation, stagnation, burst, and course changing of the Yellow River have shaped the landform of the city: seventy percent is flat, twenty percent is covered with slight depressions, and there are small areas of sand and water.

Lying in the warm temperate zone, Puyang enjoys a continental monsoon climate, featuring four distinct seasons. Spring is dry and windy usually accompanied with blowing sand, while the summer is torrid and rainy. The weather in autumn is moderate and fine with more sunlight, while it is cold and seldom rains or snows in winter. Its annual average temperature falls around 13.3℃ (about 56℉).


Attractions

Qicheng Cultural Relics Park

Puyang is one of the birthplaces of Chinese civilization. The ruins of Qicheng (qī chéng 戚城) are crucial evidence that witnessed the long history of Puyang. The attraction covers an area of 50 hectares, with 5 commemoration spots and 3 sites of relics and ruins.

Qicheng was an important town in Wei Kingdom in the Spring and Autumn Period. 80 meters away to the east, there is an earth foundation where the warlords gathered to form alliances. Between 626 BC and 531 BC, the kingdoms allied 15 times in Wei, 7 of them were held here. Presently the attraction includes the alliance stage, town walls, exhibition room, the Confucius residence in Wei, Xuan Guan, the holy place where King Zhuan Xu carried out his religious reforms, the Garden reflecting the cultural atmosphere of Wei Kingdom, the Miniature View of Ancient Battles, the Dragon Palace, the Dragon Lake, the craftsman titled "saint of carts" and his inventions, the sleeping statue of Hua Xu, Fu Xi's mother, the Fu Xi Pavilion, and the tripod caldron made by Qi, an emperor of Xia Dynasty, and the Pavilion of tripod caldron.

A border town in the north of Wei Kingdom, facing Jin Kingdom to the north on the other side of the Yellow River, bordering Lu Kingdom to the south, Zheng Kingdom to the west, Qicheng was a geographically important place. Owing to this, it had become a strategic point grappled by the warlords. The town was also the feoff of the Sun family of Wei Kingdom, which was then enormously influential and its position had a direct influence on the government of Wei Kingdom as well as the balance among the feudal forces. Accordingly it was recorded that many historical events had to do with Qicheng. Zi Lu, a disciple of Confucius was killed in a political conflict involved with this town.

The Ruins of Qicheng is a national key protection unit of historical relics. On the ground are the ruins of the ancient town walls extending 1,520 meters long, and cover an area of 1,440m². Underground are the historical remains of different periods ranging from the Yang Shao Culture over 6,000 years ago to the Han Dynasty. The Qicheng attraction of Cultural Relics is a culture theme park that mirrors the history, culture as well as the amusement of Puyang.

Location: West of Jingkai Road, Puyang City
Tel: 0393-8110107
Transportation: You can get there by taxi at the cost of about CNY10. Another option is to take Bus No.6 or No.26 and it can be reached in 10 minutes.
Opening Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Admission Fee: CNY20


The Zhongyuan Green Park

Built in March of 1999 and completed in July of 2000, it is a comprehensive forest park oriented for ecological protection, amusement and vacation. As the largest tourist attraction, the Zhongyuan Green Park (中原绿色庄园), which has become a shining sight in Puyang, is characterized by freshness and rural pleasure.

The Park highlights the greenness by planting more than 400,000 flowers and plants, a grass lawn of 30,000m², and a water area of 50,000m². In the style of landscape gardening, over a dozen botanical gardens were built, such as the 100-Fruit Orchard, the 100-Flower Garden, the Metasequoia and Ginko Garden, the Plum Garden, the Bamboo Garden, the Yulan Garden, and the lilac Garden.

To enrich the amusements in the park and enliven the customers, the acrobatic performances are held daily. The stimulation and excitement involved in the show as well as the beast-taming stunts in the zoo have always brought the audience on their feet.

There is picturesque scenery everywhere in the park. In spring, it features fragrant grass and flowers in full bloom; in summer, there is a splendid view of verdant trees and crystal water; in fall, the hill is fiery with maple leaves and ripe fruits seeming to bring the branches down; snow covered pine trees are really amazing in winter. People take it a great pleasure to have a walk in the snow. Devoted to establishing a natural, fresh, simple and pastoral view, the Park blends nature perfectly with people. Lawns, lakes, waterfalls, streams have formed an interesting contrast with the architectures. Many scenic spots have been built such as "Fun in the Forest", "100-Fruit Orchard", "100-Flower Garden" and so on. The amusements programs are available, such as the zoo, the fishing place, riders' park, children's playground, acrobatic shows, waterside pleasures and so on. All of these have totally brought out the park's theme of harmonious coexistence between man and nature as well as the profound Zhongyuan (central plains) Culture.

Location: West of Huanghe Road, Puyang City
Tel: 0393-4620475
Transportation: At the train station, you can get to the Central China Green Fazenda directly by Bus No.31 or 15 with the price of CNY1. Pay attention to the board at the bus station and not to take the right-about.
Opening Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Admission Fee: CNY30


Transportation

Railway

There is a railway between Puyang and Taiqian, at the joint of the Jing-jiu Railway, which is the important internuncial line to link the Jing-guang line and Jing-jiu line to the east.

Puyang has railway directly to the nearest Anyang or to Zhengzhou turntable stop without passenger transport.

After getting to the Zhengzhou Railway Station, you can find the Central Coach Station of Puyang on the opposite side of the Zhengzhou Railway Station. There is one bus to Puyang about every half an hour, which has the total journey of 216 kilometres and the total traveling time of more than 3 hours.

Zhonglong Travel Agency of Puyang booking call: 0393-8111088

Bus

There is Line 106 across the south and north and highway between Henan and Shandong Province across the east and west within country's borders.

Puyang tourist bus station: middle of Jingkai Lu, Hualong District, Puyang City

Enquiry Telephone of Puyang Coach Station: 0393-4436725

Taxi

The flag-down price for a microbus, and a car of Xiali brand or Fukang brand is CNY2, and CNY3 or CNY5 respectively.