Shangqiu

Shangqiu  (商丘; shāngqiū) is a city in eastern Henan province, China. Shangqiu has a history of over 4,000 years. It was the first capital of the Shang Dynasty, and later served as the capital of some states including Song in the Zhou Dynasty and Liang in the Han Dynasty.

Understand
Shangqiu is an agricultural area that mainly grows wheat, corn, cotton and pears. Shangqiu is also famous for its wine, refrigerators, aluminium and electrical bicycle industry.

Though under the administration of Henan Province, Shangqiu shares more cultural similarity with the Huaihai region (淮海地区), a marginal area that includes part of Eastern Henan, southwest Shandong, Northern Jiangsu and Northern Anhui.

Shangqiu administers:


 * 2 districts: Liangyuan (梁园) and Suiyang (睢阳). The downtown is on the boundary between the two districts.
 * 1 county-level city: Yongcheng (永城).
 * 6 counties: Minquan (民权), Suixian (Sui County) (睢县), Ningling (宁陵), Zhecheng (柘城), Xiayi (夏邑) and Yucheng (虞城).

History
The history of Shangqiu ("Hills of Shang") is closely related to the very beginning of Chinese history. The tradition dates back to the Three August Ones and Five Emperors periods (c. 25th century BC), when the legendary Emperors Shennong, Zhuanxu and Ku were said to be living in the present Shangqiu area. The son of Emperor Ku, Qi (契), who helped Yu the Great to control floods, was enfeoffed the area of Shang, who also became the ancestor of the ancient Shang. Shangqiu was also reportedly one of the capitals defended by the Xia emperor Xiang, troubled by rebellions in his reign. The thirteenth generation grandson of Qi (契), Tang overthrew the ruling Xia dynasty and founded the Shang dynasty, with its first capital at Nanbo (南亳, south of Shangqiu). Around the 11th century BC, the Shang dynasty was replaced by the Zhou dynasty. The royal descendants of the Shang dynasty were enfeoffed the area of Shangqiu, which later became the state of Song.

The Song capital, known as Suiyang, was located at present-day Nanguan (南关) in the south of Shangqiu's urban area. The Song was a major power during the Spring and Autumn era, but declined during the Warring States era and eventually fell to the Qi and Wei in 286 BC. In the Han dynasty, Suiyang served as the capital of the Liang Kingdom. King Xiao of Liang (r. 169 BC – 144 BC) stayed loyal to the Emperor Jing of Han in the Rebellion of the Seven States, during which a failed siege of Suiyang caused the collapse of the main rebel army. The king was also a famous patron of arts and literature who hosted some of the best known Han poets, such as Zhuang Ji and Sima Xiangru, in the Liang capital.

From the Cao Wei dynasty to the early Sui dynasty, Suiyang was the seat of Liang Commandery (梁郡). It became the seat of Song Prefecture (Songzhou) in 596 AD. During the An Lushan rebellion in the Tang dynasty, a ten-month-long siege of Suiyang in 757 turned the tide of the war to the Tang's favor.

Before he ascended to the imperial throne as the Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin was the jiedushi (military governor) of Guidejun (歸德軍), a region centered in Songzhou. Thus, he chose "Song" as the name of the new dynasty he founded in 960. The city was the southern capital of the Northern Song dynasty under the name Nanjing. Shangqiu was the first in a series of temporary capitals that the Song Dynasty government moved to during their retreat from the north, when most of northern China had been conquered by the Jurchens in the Jin–Song wars. The Song court had retreated south to the city from their original capital in Kaifeng, after it was captured by the Jurchens in the Jingkang Incident of 1127. The court moved to Shangqiu because of its historical importance to Emperor Taizu. The symbolism of the city was meant to secure the political legitimacy of the new Emperor Gaozong, who was crowned emperor of China in Shangqiu on June 12, 1127. The capital was again moved in 1128 to Yangzhou, and finally to Hangzhou in 1129. In the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, Shangqiu was governed as Guide Prefecture (歸德府). The current name appeared in 1545, when a new Shangqiu County was created to administer the city and its surrounding areas.

Climate
Shangqiu is located at the junction of Henan Province, Shandong Province, Jiangsu Province and Anhui province. It has a warm temperate sub-humid monsoon climate with four distinct seasons, sufficient light, mild climate and moderate rainfall. The spring is warm and windy, the summer is hot and rainy, the autumn is cool and the sunshine is long, and the winter is cold and less rain and snow. The annual average temperature here is about 14℃, the annual average sunshine duration is 2200-2400 hours, the annual precipitation is about 700 mm, and the frost-free period is between 207-214 days. The best time to visit is spring and autumn.

By train
Shangqiu is one of the large railway hubs in China. The Longhai Railway (Lianyungang - Lanzhou), Jingjiu Railway (Beijing - Kowloon), Xulan High-speed Railway (Xuzhou - Lanzhou) and the under-construction Shanghang High-speed Railway (Shangqiu - Hangzhou) pass Shangqiu. Shangqiu has railway connections to nearly all major cities in China.

Shangqiu has two railway stations. When you ride a train, be careful about which station you should go, because the distance between the two stations is 8 km and can take you more than 30 minutes by bus or 15 minutes by taxi from one station to the other.

By bus
Long-distance buses arrive Shangqiu frequently from nearby major cities such as Zhengzhou and Xuzhou and smaller cities such as Zhoukou, Bozhou, Heze and Kaifeng. You can buy a ticket from the long-distance bus station or wave to the passby buses on their route.

By bus
All the long-distance bus stations serve to the counties under the administration of Shangqiu.

City bus service is available in Liangyuan and Suiyang districts. Majority of the bus routes pass Shangqiu Railway Station, so it is nearly possible to go to any places with only one transfer there. But miserably, there is a lacking of direct bus routes for the same area in the city. Therefore, even two places are on the same side of the city, you still have to go to downtown to transfer at the railway station.

By taxi
Shangqiu City taxi starts at 5 yuan, including 2 kilometers. More than 2 kilometers, 1 yuan per kilometer, more than 10 kilometers, 1.5 yuan per kilometer.

By bicycle
Shared bicycles are available across downtown and major towns in counties.

Do

 * Yingtian Academy（应天书院）： is a famous scenic spot in Shangqiu and one of the four major academies in the Northern Song Dynasty. It was established by Yangque, a Shangqiu man in the later Jin period of the five dynasties, and has a long history. Yingtian Academy was once one of the most influential universities in the Northern Song Dynasty, attracting many scholars and scholars to study. At the same time, there are many new buildings nearby and the academy complement each other, the environment is beautiful.
 * The old city of the Song Dynasty（宋国故城）： is a well-preserved ancient site. There are many ancient houses here, such as the ruins of the capital city of Ji Fa's crusade against Di Xin, as well as the former sites of the logistics organs of the General Front Committee of the Huaihai Campaign and so on. These monuments can let people know the history and culture of the Song Dynasty.

Buy

 * Zhanggong wine（张弓酒）：It is an independent industrial zone approved by The State Council, located in the northern part of Xinxiang City and the foothills of Fenghuang Mountain, the remnant of Taihang Mountain.
 * Ningling Jinding Xiehua Pear（宁陵金顶谢花梨）： is one of the special fruits in Shangqiu City, and it is also the product of China's National Geographic Indication. Golden yellow in color, the skin is delicate, the flesh is crisp, and the taste is sweet and juicy. If you like pears, you can buy some home.
 * Zhecheng pepper（柘城辣椒）：also known as Zhecheng three cherry pepper, is a specialty of Shangqiu City, Henan Province. Zhecheng Pepper is also one of the "Top Ten pepper in China" selected by the China Vegetable Circulation Association. It has high nutritional value and medicinal value. Give it to your friends as a companion gift.
 * Songzhou liubian（松州柳编）： is a traditional handicraft in Shangqiu City, Henan province. Because the local wicker weaving products began in Song Dynasty, it is called Songzhou wicker weaving. Song Zhou willow used Wicker branches are uniform and slender, tough and white, suitable for making a variety of daily utensils and crafts fruit baskets, seats, bookshelves and so on.Is to Henan Shangqiu must bring one of the 10 local specialties recommended, very suitable for gifts to relatives and friends.

Eat

 * Yundingyue hot pot.jpg
 * Yundingyue hot pot.jpg
 * Yundingyue hot pot.jpg
 * Yundingyue hot pot.jpg

Connect
Shangqiu, located at the junction of Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, is the eastern gate of Henan Province. Shangqiu looks to Huaibei in Anhui Province and Xuzhou in Jiangsu Province in the east, Kaifeng in Henan Province in the west, Zhoukou in Henan Province and Bozhou in Anhui province in the south, and Heze and Jining in Shandong Province in the north.

Go next

 * Kaifeng, one of the ancient capitals in China. One-hour ride of high-speed railway or two-hour ride of normal railway west from Shangqiu.
 * Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province. 1½-hour ride of high-speed railway or 2½-hour ride of normal railway west from Shangqiu.
 * Xuzhou, the center city of Huaihai District, famous for its culture of Han Dynasty. Half-hour ride of high-speed railway or 1½-hour ride of normal railway east from Shangqiu.
 * Jining, the homeland of Kongzi (Qufu) and Mengzi (Zoucheng). Ride the bus from Shangqiu Central Bus Station.