Yinxu - Source of the Archaeological Discovery

The Remains of Palaces and Royal Ancestral Shrines is the main part of Yinxu Discovery. Located in Xiaotun Village on the south bank of the Huan River, it covers a total area of 715,000 square meters, reaching 1 kilometer from north to south and 650 meters from east to west. There are over 80 ruins in the whole area, including palaces, ancestral temples and other building.

The Tomb of Fu Hao (妇好墓): It is one of the bigest highlights of Yinxu. Fu Hao, the queen of the Shang Dynasty, is not only an outstanding administrator, but also the earliest female general who had won many battles. The tomb of Fu Hao is the only fully-preserved tomb of royal family members of Shang Dynasty as well as the Shang Dynasty's only tomb of royal family members that the archaeologists could tell her identity and date according to the unearthed oracle bone inscriptions. There are 16 martyrs in the tomb, 1,928 artifacts were unearthed, including 468 bronzes, 755 jade, 564 bones, and nearly 7,000 seashells.

YH127 Oracle Bones Pits (YH127甲骨窖穴): There are numerous oracle bones pits in Yinxu and YH127 Oracle Bones Pit is the most famous one. More than 17,000 carved oracle bones were discovered in this pit. These oracle bones are extremely rich in content, containing sacrifices, hunting, agriculture, astronomy, military, etc., involving all aspects of social life in Shang Dynasty. All these inscriptions providing valuable materials for the study of oracle bone inscriptions and the history of the Shang Dynasty, and is known as the earliest archive.

Yinxu Museum (殷墟博物馆): Yinxu Museum is currently the only professional museum in China that systematically displays the cultural relics of the Shang Dynasty. The museum is planned and designed in strict accordance the landscape of the Yinxu ruins as much as possible. The museum exhibits a series of exquisite cultural relics unearthed in Yin Ruins, including more than 500 national treasures such as pottery, bronze, jade and oracle bone inscriptions. Simuxing Ding is the most precious treasure of the museum.

Besides, there are several groups of foundation sites which show the original layout of the palace of the Shang Dynasty. If you are interested in oracle bone inscriptions, you can visit Stele Gallery of Oracle Bone Inscriptions or Stone Steles of Oracle Bone Inscriptions for an in-depth exploration.

The Remains of Royal Tombs is located in Wuguan Village on the north bank of the Huan River. It reaches about 450 meters long from east to west and 250 meters wide from north to south, with a total area of about 113,000 square meters. Since 1934, a total of 13 large tombs, more than 2,000 burial tombs, sacrificial pits, and carriage pits have been discovered here, including a large number of exquisitely crafted bronzes, jade, stone, and pottery. If you visit the east area of the Remains of Royal Tombs, you can see most sacrificial pits arranged in an orderly manner. It is believed as a public sacrificial venue for the Yin royal family to worship ancestors. Simuwu Ding (also known as Houmuwu Ding), the largest piece of bronze work found in the world so far, was unearthed in the east area of the Remains of Royal Tombs. Now, it is cherished in National Museum of China.

How to Get to Yinxu

The main part of Yinxu is located in northern suburb of Anyang City,

• 8 km away from Anyang City Center, about 30 minutes' drive
• 200 km away from Zhengzhou, about 3 hours' drive;
• 280 km away from Dengfeng (Shaolin Temple), about 3.5 hours' drive;
• 310 km away Luoyang, about 4 hours' drive;

It is quite convenient to travel to Anyang by high speed train. There are over 40 daily high speed trains from Zhengzhou (45mins), over 10 daily high speed trains from Luoyang (1.5hrs) and 1 daily high speed train from Kaifeng (1.5hrs) to Anyang. All the high speed train will arrive at Anyang East Railway Station. You can get to Yinxu by bus (1.5 hours) or taxi (40 minutes' drive). There is no direct bus running from Anyang East Railway Station and you need to make a transfer.

Usually, it needs 1 day to have Yinxu Tour. You can firstly visit the Remains of Palaces and Royal Ancestral Shrines, and then take a scenic shuttle bus to the Remains of Royal Tombs.

However, Yinxu is far from enough for a history and cultural fan. We strongly suggest spend 2 ~ 3 days visiting Luoyang and nearby Shaolin Temple. Highlights of Luoyang include Longmen Grottoes which is known as the finest examples of Chinese Buddhist art, 1900-year-old White Horse Temple (also China's first Buddhist temple), 2000-year-old burial site - Tianzi Jialiu Museum and beautiful Luoyang Museum with a lot of history to tell. Of course, you can't miss a Kung Fu exploration in Shaolin Temple (in Dengfeng city) if you visit Luoyang. It is only 55 km (about 1.5 hours' drive) away from Luoyang City.

√ 3 Days Essence of Luoyang Tour (Luoyang / Shaolin Temple)

√ 6 Days Henan Highlights Tour (Zhengzhou / Anyang / Kaifeng / Dengfeng / Luoyang)

It's also recommended to extend your Luoyang tour to its attractive neighbors. After Shaolin Temple visit, you can spend 1 day exploring Zhengzhou or Kaifeng. If you are fond of nature, Mount Yuntai, Guoliang Village, etc.

3 Days Luoyang & Yuntai Mountain Tour (Luoyang / Yuntai Mountain)

√ 5 Days Henan Cultural Tour to Luoyang and Kaifeng (Zhengzhou / Kaifeng / Dengfeng / Luoyang)