Anyang (;
Postal map spelling: Anyang) is a
prefecture-level city in
Henan province,
People's Republic of China. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders
Puyang to the east,
Hebi and
Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of
Shanxi and
Hebei to its west and north respectively.
Administration
The
prefecture-level city of Anyang administers 4
districts, 1
county-level city and 4
counties.
History
Xiaonanhai, on the far western edge of the city, was home to prehistoric cavemen during the
Stone Age. Over 7,000 artifacts (including stone tools and animal bone fossils) have been unearthed here representing what has been dubbed the Xiaonanhai culture.
Around 2000 BC the legendary sage-kings
Zhuanxu and
Emperor Ku are said to have established their capitals in the area around Anyang from where they ruled their kingdom. Their mausoleums are today situated in Sanyang village south of Neihuang County.
At the beginning of the 14th century BC King
Pangeng of the
Shang Dynasty established his capital 2km north of the modern city on the banks of the
Huan River. The city, known as
Yin, was the first stable capital in Chinese history and from that point on the dynasty that founded it would also become known as the
Yin Dynasty.
The capital served 12 kings in 8 generations, including
Wu Ding under whom the dynasty reached the zenith of its power, until it was wiped out along with the dynasty that founded it by King
Wu of the
Zhou Dynasty in BC 1046.
Anyang's Tangyin County was the seat of Yue Village, birth place of the famous
Song Dynasty General
Yue Fei. This was also the historic home of
Zhou Tong, Yue's military arts tutor (though fictional sources place him in
Shaanxi).
The contemporary city was reconstructed in
1368 CE during the Ming Dynasty.
Liberation
In August 1949 Anyang
prefecture was detached from Henan and, along with
Puyang and
Xinxiang, consigned to the experimental province of
Pingyuan. All three were returned to Henan in November 1953, with the dissolution of Pingyuan.
Economy
Anyang's opening to the outside world has enabled its foreign economic relations and trade progress rapidly. Sixteen foreign-funded enterprises (
joint ventures, cooperative enterprises and wholly foreign-owned enterprises) have been established. Recently, Anyang has established an economic and technological development zone covering a total area of 22.8 square kilometers and issued a series of preferential policies to attract many domestic Chinese and foreign businesses. A multichannel, all-round foreign relations and trade network have been set up to lay a foundation for developing Anyang's economy.
Tourism
Anyang city is an ancient city with a history of over 3,000 years and is one of the
Eight Ancient Capitals of China. It is one of the key birthplaces of Chinese ancient culture. Here are the primitive caves of 25,000 years ago, the overlapping
stratums of the
Yangshao Culture,
Longshan Culture and Xiaotun Culture, the memorial mausoleums of ancient Emperor
Zhuanxu and Emperor
Ku over 4,000 years ago, the first library of
inscriptions on bones and tortoise shells, the Soul Spring Temple known as the "First Ancient Buddhist Temple in Henan", and 10,000-Buddha Ravine, as well as unique Wenfeng Pagoda, Xiuding Temple Pagoda and Mingfu Temple Pagoda. Anyang also has beautiful natural scenery -- the Taihang Linlu Hill Scenic Area on the 400-kilometer
Taihang Mountains and the grand 1,500-kilometer Red Flag Canal.
Hall of Heavenly Kings and Wenfeng Pagoda at Tianning Temple
Tianning Temple
Tianning Si (Mansion Temple) was established during the
Zhou dynasty and has recently been restored by the Protection and Research Institute of Ancient Architecture of Anyang City and opened to the public. Main structures within the temple compound include; the gate house, the 3 room (8.4m x 14m) Hall of the Heavenly King with hanging-eaves over the gables rebuilt in
2002,
the slightly larger (17.8m x 11.65m) Precious Hall of the Great Hero with single-eave gabled roof originally from the
Qing dynasty and rebuilt in
2001,
and the
Wenfeng Pagoda.
Wenfeng Pagoda
Wenfeng Ta (Literature Peak Pagoda) on the grounds of the
Tianning Temple is believed to have been constructed in
925 and is known, from inscriptions concerning the reconstruction of the temple, to have been in place by
952. The current pagoda was constructed during the
Ming Dynasty and got its current name during the
Qing Dynasty due to its proximity to the Confucian temple. The five-story dark red brick octagonal tower is 38.65m high and unusually is larger at the top than the bottom and is topped with a 10m Lamaist stupa-style dagoba steeple. The pagoda stands on two-metre-high stone pedestal and is decorated with multi-eave pent roofs and carvings of Buddhas and bodhisattvas. The unique pagoda is the symbol of Anyang.
Yinxu Museum
Located about 2 km northwest of Anyang are the ruins of the
Shang Dynasty capital known as
Yin. This massive archaeological site was discovered in
1899, excavated in the decades that followed and first opened to the public in the 1980s as the Garden Museum of Yinxu. The current museum was opened on
16 March 2005 and includes the famous
Tomb of Fu Hao. The site is inscribed on the
UNESCO list of
World Heritage Sites.
Sister cities
See also
