Classic 5-Day Self-Drive Tour of Henan (Zhengzhou - Kaifeng - Dengfeng - Luoyang)

Henan, abbreviated as "Yu", with its capital Zhengzhou, is known as "the hinterland of the nine provinces and the thoroughfare of ten provinces". Henan got its name because historically most of its area lies south of the Yellow River. In ancient times, the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River were crisscrossed by rivers, covered with dense forests, and inhabited by many wild elephants. Henan was described as a place where people led elephants, which is the origin of the pictographic character "Yu". We embarked on this trip to Henan with a humble and learning attitude, but we were even more tempted by the local cuisine: the spicy and numbing hulatang (pepper soup), Luoyang water banquet, Bufan soup, lamb stewed noodles, and crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside potstickers.

This family trip for three focused mainly on Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, and Luoyang. Considering that the distances between the three cities are not very far, with many attractions clustered and convenient transportation, I started planning through Ctrip to book flights, rent a car, reserve hotels, buy tickets, and look up food.

Day 1 (July 11): We took China Southern Airlines' 9:15 flight from Guangzhou, arriving in Zhengzhou at 11:40. It took about 40 minutes from the airport to the hotel by taxi, costing 26 yuan. We had booked the Zhengzhou Meisheng Sheraton Grand Hotel (5-diamond) a week in advance, with a deluxe twin room for 2 nights, total cost 1,387 yuan (including 2 breakfasts per day). The overall cost-performance of the hotel was relatively high, with elegant design, clean rooms, fresh flowers upon arrival, free minibar on the first day, and a rich breakfast buffet featuring specialty hulatang and tofu pudding. However, the training of the lobby and door staff still needs improvement: guidance for vehicles, greetings to guests, providing information, opening and closing car doors, helping with luggage, and directing guests to the front desk for check-in were all handled unprofessionally and without coordination. If you didn't ask proactively, they wouldn't offer help. The hardware advantages outweighed these shortcomings, after all, the stay environment was still good.

At 2:00 PM, we visited the Henan Museum for free (reservation required in advance via the "Henan Museum" WeChat official account). We focused on the three treasures of the museum: the Jiahu bone flute, the cloud-pattern bronze prohibition, and the Fuhao owl-shaped zun. As we immersed ourselves in the historical river of the Henan Museum, traveling through time in half a day, waves of amazement and pride constantly washed over my heart and stirred my mind. Chinese civilization originated here and took root and flourished on this fertile land. The simple and heavy pottery, the finely textured bronzes, and the dazzling Tang tri-color glazed pottery spoke to people of their glorious past in their unique way. To buy mystery boxes, there was no need to reserve on the Henan Museum official account; there were many gift shops on site, with prices ranging from 60 to 90 yuan.

At 6:30 PM, we went to visit Erqi Square. There was construction nearby, making transportation inconvenient, so we got off early and walked there. The square is located in the bustling commercial center of Zhengzhou, surrounded by Hualian Department Store, Yaxiya Department Store, Walmart, a book center, and hundreds of restaurants. It is a must-visit for tourists. The Erqi Memorial Tower on the square was built to commemorate the February 7th Strike of the Beijing-Hankou Railway workers in 1923. The tower is 63 meters high and has 14 floors, each with antique upturned eaves and green glazed tiles. At night, under the lights, it looks even more majestic.

Day 2 (July 12): We rented a car through Ctrip (Volkswagen CC, 4 days, total cost 1,500 yuan including fuel. Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, and Luoyang all have traffic restrictions based on license plate numbers, so we chose a plate ending with 5, which is restricted only on Fridays). We set off by car at 9:00 to Kaifeng, which took about an hour. Today's main attractions were Daxiangguo Temple, Kaifeng Prefecture, and the Millennium City Park (plus the evening performance of "The Legend of Kaifeng").

Around 10:00, we arrived at the parking lot opposite Daxiangguo Temple (day parking fee 10 yuan). We had booked tickets for Daxiangguo Temple + Kaifeng Prefecture on Ctrip for 96 yuan per person, entering by scanning ID cards. Daxiangguo Temple in Kaifeng is the place where Lu Zhishen uprooted a willow tree in the novel "Water Margin" (a bronze statue is on the left just inside the temple gate). The temple was first built in the 6th year of the Tianbao reign of Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi (555 AD). In the 1st year of the Yanyuan reign of Tang (712 AD), Emperor Ruizong Li Dan renamed it "Xiangguo Temple" to commemorate his ascension to the throne from the Prince of Xiang, and he personally inscribed the plaque "Daxiangguo Temple". The temple reached its peak during the Northern Song Dynasty, when it served as the imperial temple. Entering the main gate, one sees the Heavenly King Hall, the Great Hero Hall, the Octagonal Glass Hall (Arhat Hall), and the Sutra Library. The Arhat Hall, commonly known as the Octagonal Glass Hall, is an octagonal corridor-style building. Inside, the 500 arhats in the corridor have various postures and vivid expressions. In the center of the hall, visitors can also see a wooden octagonal pavilion with a 6-meter-high wooden statue of the "Thousand-Armed, Thousand-Eyed Guanyin". The statue is a Qing Dynasty relic carved from a single ginkgo tree. The temple environment is serene, with ancient and mottled buildings (the paint on the surfaces is cracked and peeling quite severely), towering old trees, and many worshippers. In front of each main hall, there are places to purchase incense, with prices ranging from 20 to several hundred yuan.

Around 11:00, we left Daxiangguo Temple and drove to the Kaifeng Prefecture scenic area, about a 10-minute drive. Parking was convenient (fee 10 yuan). When thinking of the Kaifeng Prefecture scenic area, I first recalled the upright and incorruptible Judge Bao, who feared no power and served the people, along with the three execution blades that inspired awe. The current Kaifeng Prefecture is a modern reconstructed antique scenic spot. The original prefecture was destroyed by floods a thousand years ago. The prefecture gate faces south. Entering the scenic area, the main axis consists of buildings like the Main Hall, the Council Hall, and the Plum Blossom Hall, flanked by halls such as the Tianqing Temple, the Mingli Courtyard, the Qianlong Palace, and the Qingxin Tower. Each hall is not very large; visitors can follow the scenic map to tour. After finishing the main axis, you can explore the side halls. Although it is a modern imitation of Song architecture, the performances inside are rich, combining education with entertainment, making it a good tourist spot for families with children. We had lunch at "Huangjia Old Restaurant" near Kaifeng Prefecture.

At 3:00 PM, we drove to the Millennium City Park. Since we planned to watch the evening performance, we wanted to park near an exit. So we navigated to the Yingbin Gate parking lot of the Millennium City Park. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a "tragedy": near the park, we crawled through narrow residential alleys that could only fit one small car. There were three other cars that had also been led in by navigation. After driving around for about 10 minutes, we finally saw a main road, but the navigation directed us back into another alley. After another 5 minutes, we gave up and changed the navigation to the Jinshui Gate's No. 2 parking lot. Fortunately, the entrance tickets and performance tickets (Zone A) had been booked a day in advance on Ctrip for 299 yuan per person, and we just scanned our IDs to enter. The Millennium City Park is a cultural theme park based on Zhang Zeduan's famous painting "Along the River During the Qingming Festival", recreating the market life and ancient entertainment of Bianliang (now Kaifeng), the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty. The park is divided into three parts: Yingbin Square, North Garden, and South Garden, reproducing the bustling Bianjing city. Here you are surrounded by a vast complex of imitation Song architecture. There are also taverns, tea houses, pawnshops, and other civilian facilities. The staff and vendors in the park are all dressed in Song Dynasty costumes. There are also many folk craft workshops in the Northern Song style, where you can watch artisans demonstrate their skills and buy handicrafts. All this creates an illusion of stepping into the Bianliang of the Northern Song Dynasty. During the tour, you can also see performances of stories and folk customs with Northern Song characteristics, such as "Wang Yuanwai Marries Off His Daughter", "Yue Fei Stabs Liang Wang", and "Cockfighting Competition". For dinner, we ate lamb stewed noodles, soup dumplings, grilled gluten skewers, and almond tea at the park's food street. In the evening, we watched the large-scale water stage performance "The Legend of Kaifeng" (previously known as "The Legend of the Song Dynasty"). The entire show was linked by eight classic Song poems and a scroll of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival", pulling the audience back into the Northern Song Dynasty a thousand years ago. The whole performance lasted about 70 minutes. At 9:30 PM, we drove back to the Zhengzhou Meisheng Sheraton Grand Hotel, arriving about 80 minutes later. We washed up and went to bed, as the next day would be tiring.

Day 3 (July 13): We slept in naturally and had breakfast at the hotel. Around 9:00, we set off for the Songshan Shaolin Temple scenic area. Around 10:00, we approached the Sanhuangzhai entrance (due to road maintenance in the scenic area and the small sign for the Sanhuangzhai parking lot, we missed it driving by. We heard that we still needed to take a shuttle bus to reach the Sanhuangzhai entrance.) The navigation led us astray again, so we gave up the plan to ascend from Sanhuangzhai. We navigated to the Shaolin Temple entrance and started climbing from there. Today's route was Shaolin Temple – Pagoda Forest – Sanhuangzhai. According to the itinerary, we first visited Shaolin Temple (we hired a guide outside the temple gate for 60 yuan), then went to the Pagoda Forest. About a 5-minute walk from the Pagoda Forest, there was a cable car station. On the left was the "Songshan Cable Car" (to Lianmota and Erzu'an). The middle path was the trail to "Tizigou" (Ladder Gully) from where you could climb to the plank road (Shaolin cable car exit) and then to Sanhuangzhai (the climb from Tizigou had no scenic spots; the steps were no easier than the Haohan Slope of Sanhuangzhai. It took about 2 hours to reach the plank road, mainly a physical workout – it is recommended to bring plenty of water.) On the right was the "Shaolin Cable Car", which went directly to the plank road, and from there to Sanhuangzhai. This section of the scenic area contains many unique geological landscapes, especially the suspended plank road, which is a must-see. Walking on the cliffside plank road, with towering cliffs on one side and a bottomless abyss on the other, is a great test of both body and mind. It is considered the most worthwhile part of the Shaolin Temple scenic area.

We finished the trip around 6:00 PM and drove to the Dengfeng Yishe Dengfeng Hotel. The hotel rooms were spacious and not far from the Zen Shaolin performance venue. The front desk service was good, and check-out was handled quickly. The room cleanliness was okay, but since the hotel was not in the city center, shopping was inconvenient. At 8:00 PM, we went to watch the Zen Shaolin Music Ritual, costing 279 yuan per person. The live performance was set in the Songshan Gorge, with a 180-degree panoramic view. The beautiful mountain forests and springs, and the faintly visible ancient temples and monasteries formed the real background. The live-action moving surround sound combined with natural sounds of water, wind, and insects created a panoramic 3D sound field. Coupled with the grand artistic lighting project, it brought the ancient Central Mountain back to life, illuminating the world. The grand scale, large cast, and powerful presence were very shocking and spiritually cleansing. However, we all sat on rush mats; only VIP tickets came with chairs. During this 1-hour performance, while being thrilled, I also struggled with back pain.

Day 4 (July 14): We had breakfast at the hotel – a simple buffet with limited variety. Today's itinerary planned to visit Zhongyue Temple and Songyang Academy. We followed the navigation to the Zhongyue Temple parking lot. Once again, tragedy struck: the original parking lot was temporarily closed, and we had to park far away. It was hot, and the new parking lot was a 5-6 minute walk from the temple. There was construction nearby, so we had to walk slowly along the main road. Zhongyue Temple is the largest and best-preserved Taoist temple among the Five Sacred Mountains, and also a holy site of the Complete Perfection School of Taoism. There are many ancient trees in the temple. The existing Wuyue Zhenxing Tablet, Han Dynasty stone figures, and the three Han Dynasty towers are all national treasures. After Zhongyue Temple, we drove to Songyang Academy. This time the parking lot was right opposite the academy. We bought tickets on site and entered. Songyang Academy is not very large. After entering the main gate, you can follow the central axis and walk forward. The architectural layout of the academy retains the Qing Dynasty style. Entering the scenic area, you first see the Ancestral Master Shrine, dedicated to the masters and sages associated with the academy, then the Lecture Hall, the Daotong Shrine, and finally the Library. Among them, the Tang Dynasty stele and the cypress generals are highlights. Songyang Academy was one of the birthplaces of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty. Its architectural style is a "specimen" for the study of ancient Chinese academy architecture, educational systems, and Confucian culture.

Due to road maintenance in the scenic area, we did not continue to climb Mount Taishi from Songyang Academy. After visiting Songyang Academy, we ended the day's itinerary and headed to Luoyang. Around 3:00 PM, we arrived at the reserved Luoyang Christine Hotel. My first impression of this hotel was that the staff were extremely enthusiastic – from entering its parking lot to checking into the room, every step made you feel "overwhelmingly warm." There were free fruit meals, instant noodles, and children's dumplings available, just a phone call away.

Day 5 (July 15): Breakfast was at the hotel's 18th-floor buffet restaurant. There was a wide variety of food, high-end decoration, and a great view overlooking most of Luoyang. Today's itinerary was to visit White Horse Temple and Longmen Grottoes. It took about 30 minutes from the hotel to the temple. Near the temple, there were many private temporary parking lots, all charging 10 yuan per day. We bought incense for 20 yuan and bought tickets on site for 35 yuan per person (tickets on Ctrip with explanation service were 75 yuan per person). White Horse Temple was founded in the 11th year of the Yongping reign of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 68). It is the first ancient temple in China, a world-famous Sangharama, the first temple built after Buddhism was introduced to China, and is known as the "ancestral court" and "source of Buddhism" in Chinese Buddhism, with a history of over 1,900 years. The existing ruins and relics date from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. The temple preserves a large number of Yuan Dynasty dry lacquer statues, such as the Buddhas of the Three Ages, two Heavenly Generals, and eighteen Arhats, which are extremely precious. The visit took about an hour. We drove on the highway directly to Longmen Grottoes, which took about 40 minutes. Tickets for Longmen Grottoes need to be booked a day in advance with a designated time slot, costing 90 yuan per person. From the entrance to the grottoes, we walked about 10 minutes. The route was: West Mountain → East Mountain → Xiangshan Temple → Bai Garden. I suggest everyone take their time on West Mountain and look carefully. According to the guide, ninety percent of the stone Buddha statues in Longmen Grottoes have been damaged; only about a hundred remain. During our visit, we went up and down stairs but rarely saw a complete statue. Most of the existing statues are on West Mountain; East Mountain has relatively few, and some caves are just carved out without statues. After finishing West Mountain, we were already a bit tired and just glanced over East Mountain. It is recommended to bring water and food to replenish energy. Overall, the visit was exhausting! We didn't go to Xiangshan Temple or Bai Garden; instead, we took a boat back to the entrance (boat fee 60 yuan per person). We drove directly to Zhengzhou Airport to return the car and flew back to our lovely home.