Gongyi 巩义市

Setting and landscape

The land drops in steps from south to north: from the Mount Song and Wuzhiling (五指岭) uplands at the southern edge, where Yuzhu Peak (玉柱峰) reaches 1,487 metres, through low mountains and loess hills down to river valleys. The Luo River (洛河) enters from the west and flows northeast into the Yellow River. The meeting of the two rivers, called Luorui (洛汭), is where the city government places the legends of the dragon-horse bearing the River Chart and Fu Xi (伏羲) drawing the eight trigrams. Fuxi Mountain (浮戏山) has karst scenery with more than 100 caves, among them Xuehua Cave (雪花洞) with a 173-metre "snowflake gallery".

History

Gong County was set up in the Qin dynasty and named for the phrase "guarded on four sides by mountains and rivers, firm and unshakable"; it became Gongyi city in 1991. The Shuanghuaishu site (双槐树遗址), which specialists have proposed calling the "Heluo ancient state" (河洛古国), is described by the city government as the highest-ranking central settlement of the middle and late Yangshao culture yet found in the Yellow River basin. The Tieshenggou (铁生沟) Han ironworks is the earliest known site of iron smelted with coal, and the Huangye (黄冶) kilns are the earliest and largest known Tang sancai kiln site.

What to see

The Northern Song imperial tombs (北宋皇陵) spread over the city and the towns of Xicun, Zhitian and Huiguo, holding eight Song emperors and the father of the dynasty's founder among queens' and ministers' tombs over 156 square kilometres; they became a national key protected site in 1982. The Gongxian Cave Temple (巩县石窟寺), under Dali Mountain in Heluo town 5 kilometres north of the city, was begun by the Northern Wei court, and later dynasties down to the Song added niches and statues; the city singles out its flying apsaras and reliefs of the emperor and empress worshipping the Buddha.

Du Fu's birthplace (杜甫故里), at Nanyaowan village in Zhanjie town, lies below Bijia Hill and includes the cave dwelling where he was born, while his tomb is on the Mang ridge (邙岭) at Kangdian. The Kang Baiwan Manor (康百万庄园), begun in the late Ming and early Qing, records the fortunes of the Kang family over 13 generations and more than 400 years; its residential quarter, warehouses, south compound and ancestral hall survive with stone, wood and brick carving.

Highlights

• Northern Song imperial tombs 北宋皇陵: Tombs of eight Song emperors over 156 square kilometres; national key protected site since 1982.
• Gongxian Cave Temple 巩县石窟寺: Northern Wei imperial cave temple 5 km north of the city, known for its flying apsaras.
• Kang Baiwan Manor 康百万庄园: Late Ming–early Qing manor of the Kang family, whose fortunes it traces over 13 generations; national 4A scenic area.
• Du Fu's birthplace 杜甫故里: Village below Bijia Hill where the Tang poet was born and grew up.
• Xuehua Cave 雪花洞: Karst cave on Fuxi Mountain with a 173-metre "snowflake gallery".