Henan lies in the center of China, bounded by Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, Anhui, Hubei, and Shaanxi. It has an area of 64,500 square miles (167,000 sq km), and its capital is Zhengzhou. An early civilization there gave rise to the Shang dynasty (18th – 12th centuries BC). Kaifeng was the capital of several dynasties in the 10th century AD before becoming the capital of the Bei (Northern) Song dynasty (960 – 1127); Zhengzhou then became the provincial capital. Northern Henan, along the Yellow River, was the core area of ancient China for at least the first half of Chinese history. The two cities of Luoyang and Kaifeng each served as the capital city of a long list of dynasties.
Archaeological sites reveal that prehistoric cultures such as the Yangshao Culture and Longshan Culture were active in what is now northern Henan. The Erlitou culture, which has been controversially identified with the Xia Dynasty, the first Chinese dynasty as described in Chinese records, was also centered in Henan. The long history bestows Henan with abundant cultural relics. To preserve there cultural relics, Henan government built Henan Museum. At present the museum has a collection of more than 130,000 pieces of cultural relics treasures, of which more than 5,000 pieces are treasures of the first and second grades. Among them, the prehistoric cultural relics, bronze vessels of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and pottery and porcelain wares of the various dynasties in Chinese history possess most distinguishing features. Inside the museum, there are basic exhibition halls, specialized exhibition halls and provisional exhibition halls. For the first batch of exhibitions, two basic displays and six specialized displays are offered. They are rich in contents, presenting a spectacular sight to visitors. Longmen Stone Cave and Shaolin Temple are also world famous scenic spots. Various great people are born in Henan such as Laozi, Zhuangzi, Du Fu, Han Yu, etc.