Henan

Henan Province is quite often overlooked by travellers, bypassing it for the more famous sights in other provinces. However Henan does have some sights to be proud of.

The city of Luoyang is home to the stunning Longmen Buddhist Caves. Since Luoyang used be right on the Silk Road merchants plying the road brought Buddhist thought with them. In the 5^th century some of them began
constructing the caves, and after more than 200 years of hard work almost 100.000 statues and figures of Buddha were completed. Some of them are only a few centimeters tall, while the biggest tower almost 20 meters above you.
Luoyang is also home to the White Horse Temple, one of the earliest Buddhist temples in China dating back to the 1^st century B.C.! Although the temple in itself is not much different from other temples in China it is quite incredible to walk around in a temple that has been active for more than 2000 years. Luoyang has a fairly well preserved Old Town as well.

The famous fighting monks of China are also native to Henan Province. They have been made famous throughout the world through movies and documentaries, with the center of attention being Shaolin Temple. Now it is actually a whole bunch of temples strewn across a mountain.

The provincial capital of Zhengzhou is of mild interest, with a few good sights, while nearby Kaifeng is worth a visit for its sights regarding the Silk Road and later dynasties.