Dengfeng


Dengfeng is a county-level city of Henan Province, South Central China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhengzhou.
Dengfeng has an area of and a population of 630,000. It occupies the southwestern corner of Zhengzhou and is its westernmost county-level division.
Dengfeng is located at the foot of the Mount Song, one of the most sacred mountains in China. The city is one of the most renowned spiritual centers of China, and is home to various religious institutions and famous temples such as the Taoist Zhongyue Temple, the Buddhist Shaolin Temple, as well as the Confucian Songyang Academy, hence its poetic expression derived from Chinese literature as the spiritual "center of heaven and earth".

History

The first Xia Dynasty capital, Yangcheng, was built west of Gaocheng Township on the Yin River under the sacred Mount Song.
The famous Shaolin Monastery, traditionally considered the origin of Zen, is located in Dengfeng where they teach adults as well as children martial arts. It is also a famous tourist attraction.

Sites

In 2010, UNESCO inscribed several of the most renowned sites of Dengfeng onto its World Heritage List under the title "Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in 'The Center of Heaven and Earth'." The World Heritage Site includes several historic gates, temples, a Confucian academy and the Gaocheng Observatory:

Transportation