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Every well-known Chinese cultural city has a long history and a rich cultural legacy. This article highlights seven of China’s most famous cultural cities that you shouldn’t miss on your China tours.
Beijing
The capital of China, Beijing is one of the most famous historical and cultural cities in China. Beijing has a history of more than 3,000 years as a city and more than 850 years as a capital. It is the former capital of Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Beijing became the first “city of Dual Olympics” in history when it successfully hosted the Summer and Winter Olympics. The Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, the Old Summer Palace, and Tian’anmen Square are just a few of Beijing’s well-known sights.
Xian
One of the “Four ancient capitals of the World Civilisation,” Xi’an was named a “World Historic City” by UNESCO in 1981. Thirteen dynasties have built their capitals in Xi’an throughout history. The city was also where the Silk Road began.
Six sites in Xian have been inscribed on the World Heritage List: the Mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin and the Terracotta Warriors, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, the Daming Palace site of Chang ‘an City of Tang Dynasty, the Weiyang Palace site of Chang ‘an City of Han Dynasty, and the Xingjiao Temple Pagoda.
Luoyang
Luoyang’s history spans over 5,000 years as a civilisation, over 4,000 years as a city, and over 1,500 years as a capital. 13 Chinese dynasties have established their capitals here. What to see on your Luoyang tours?
Erlitou, Yanshi Shang, Eastern Zhou King, Han Wei, and Sui Tang are among the sites in Luoyang City. UNESCO has designated the Silk Road, the Longmen Grottoes, and the Grand Canal of China in Luoyang as World Heritage Sites.
Datong
Datong was the southern capital of the Dai Dynasty, the capital of the Northern Wei, and the secondary capital of the Liao, Jin and early Yuan dynasties. There are many historic sites in Datong, including Yungang Grottoes, Datong Ancient City, Hengshan Mountain, the Great Wall of Datong, Huayan Temple, Shanhua Temple, Xuankong Temple, Jiulongbi and so on.
Hangzhou
Excavations at the site of Trans-Huqiao in Hangzhou City show that human beings lived and thrived in Hangzhou more than 8,000 years ago. The Liangzhu culture of Hangzhou, which dates back more than 5,000 years, is known as “the dawn of Chinese civilization”.
Hangzhou has a history of more than 2,200 years since the establishment of county administration in the Qin Dynasty. The capital of Hangzhou was established by the Wuyue State of the five dynasties and the Southern Song Dynasty. Hangzhou is famous for its West Lake culture, Liangzhu culture, silk culture and tea culture.
