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Central China Overview |
Central
China
is regarded as an area where began Yellow River Civilization, whose
philosophy has been the mainstream of Chinese Culture. The heart area
consists of Sha’axi Province, Shanxi
Province,
Henan
Province
and Hubei Provicne.
Sha’axi
Province
Sha’anxi
means West Sha’a Plain. Situated on the
Northwest China Loess highland, Sha’anxi
Province on the middle reaches of the
Yellow River
covers an area of 206,000 sq km inhabited by 34.425 million people. The
provincial capital is
Xi'an
, an old city beyond compare and a rising industrial center straddling
China
's east-west trunk line -- the Longhai
Railway.
Shaanxi
is one of the cradles of the Chinese nation where 13 dynasties made their
national capital.
Sha'anxi
is the home of the famous Terracotta Underground Army. Its capital is a
major center for the military-industrial complex focusing on aircraft and
electronics. Sha'anxi is an arid agricultural
area with much of the land mountainous and covered by easily eroded loess
soil. Even so it is the second largest producer of apples and ranks in the
top five in the production of walnuts, milk, and cashmere. Oil, coal, and
natural gas reserves are large in this province. The province is a major
producer of Boeing fins and stabilizers for the B-7377 as well as for the
European Airbus. We spent several weeks in
Xi'an
and enjoyed the area very much. The Banpo
Neolithic village contains relics of a civilization of 4500 BC to 3750 BC.
Shanxi
Province
:
Shanxi
means Mountains’ West. With an area of 156.3
thousand km2 and a pupolation of
31.908 million
Shanxi
Province
is in
China
¢ s Huabei Area and the eastern Huangtu
(loess) Plateau. It is between 34° 34.8¢ N~40° 43.4¢ N and 110°
14.6¢ E~114° 33.4¢ E, and neighbors on
Hebei
,
Henan
,
Shaanxi
, and
Inner Mongolia
.
Tour
attractions in Shangxi include one of the most
four famous Buddhist mountains in China-Wutai
Mountain, Heng Mountain, Hukou
Waterfall, Pingyao Ancient city, Taiyuan
Jin Temple, North Wudang Mountain, Ying County
Wood Tower, Yongle Palace, Wulao
Mountain, Xiezhou King Guan Temple, Yungang
cave etc.
Henan
Province
With
over 95 million residents, Henan today is
China’s most populous province, Henan means
River’s South, and it is the cradle of Chinese civilization, where Xia
Dynasty (2200-1750 BC) established itself as the first central authority
in China.It was here in Henan
that China’s recorded history began with the rise of the Zhou Dynasty
(1150-256 BC), the first royal family to keep written records. And it was
here at a monastery in the Song Shan mountains
that an Indian monk named Damo started a
school
of
Buddhism
that became known as “Zen.” If you're looking for
China
as it was, the
China
of prehistory,
Henan
Province
is a place you must
visit...
Henan
,
also known as Yu for short, is located on the hin
terland of the Central Plain, a long the
middle and lower reaches of the Huanghe
(Yellow) River in
China
. The majority of the province is to the south of Huanghe,
hence its name.
Zhengzhou
is the capital.
Henan
has 13 cities such as
Zhengzhou
,
Luoyang
,
Anyang
, and
Kaifeng
, two regions including Zhoukou and Zhumadian,
25 county-level cities, and 91 counties, with an area of 160, 000 square
kilometers and a population of 90.27 million.
Henan
is surrounded by mountains in southwest and northwest. It has boundless
plain in the east.
The ancient
Huanghe
River
runs eastward in northern
Henan
. Henan has rich tourist resources with
beautiful landscape and many places of interest, such as Mt. Agong
at the juncture of Henan and Hubei,
Mt. Songshan - one of the five famous
mountains in China between Zhengzhou and Luoyang;
Mount Yuntai in Xiuwu,Mt.Shiren
Natural Scenic Area in Lushan, the Waterfall
Cave in Tongbai and Qixian,
the Hundred Springs in Huixian, Nanwan
Lake in Xinyang, and the Huanghe
Scenic Area in Sanmenxia and Kaifeng,
to the only a few.
Hubei
Province
:
Hubei
means Lake’s North , which lies in the middle
Yangtze River valley, derived its name from its location north of the
Dongting
Lake
. It is also known as the "thoroughfare of nine provinces": with
the Yangtze River flowing from west to east and the Beijing-Guangzhou
Railway running from north to south, Hubei is
located right in the middle of the country's main water and land transport
artery. It has an area of 185,900 sq km and a population of 56,540,000.
The provincial capital is
Wuhan
.
With mountains in the west, north and east and low, humid plains in the
central south, Hubei is like a basin with a
slightly irregular shape and can be divided into four topographical zones:
1) The Jianghan Plain in the central south
forms part of the Lianghu Plain together with
the Dongting Lake Plain of Hunan Province. Low
and flat and crisscrossed by rivers and lakes, it is the major farming
area of the province. 2). The western
Hubei
mountainous area includes the Wudang, Jingshan,
Daba and
Wushan
Mountains
. Its main peak, the 3,053-meter Dashennongjia,
is the highest peak in central
China
. A primeval forest area known as the "green Treasure-house", it
teems with animals and plants. 3). The northeastern Hubei
hilly area on the Hubei-Henan-Anhui border
consists mainly of the Tongbai and Dabei
ranges and is the watershed of the Huaihe and
Yangtze rivers. 4). The southeastern
Hubei
hilly area includes the northern sloping foothills of the
Mufu
Mountains
.
Hubei
has more than 1,000 rivers, with the
Yangtze River
serving as the backbone into which its tributaries flow from two
directions to form the single Yangtze River System.
Hubei
has more lakes than any other province in
China
, with most of them in the Jianghan Plain. The
best-known lakes are Hong, Liangzi and Changhu
lakes.
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