Heritage
Video 1:36Yinxu
殷墟The Shang capital where written Chinese begins
4.63 h|¥70
Anyang安阳
Where Chinese writing begins — oracle bones and bronze from the Shang capital.
Suggested stay
1 days
Editorial guides
1
Arrive at
Anyang East railway
Best season
Apr–May, Sep–Oct
Three reasons to get off the train
- 01
Heritage
Imperial capitals, grottoes and excavated cities
- 02
Museums
Provincial collections with English labels
- 03
Bring these together
Yinxu
What to see in Anyang
1 editorial guidesWhat happened here
c. 1300 BCESitesXia & Shang
Yinxu: the last Shang capital
Palaces, royal tombs and more than a hundred thousand oracle bones, inscribed with the earliest mature Chinese writing.
c. 1250 BCEPeopleXia & Shang
Fu Hao, general and consort
Her undisturbed tomb held bronze weapons, jade and sixteen sacrificed people; oracle bones record her leading armies of thousands.
c. 1100 BCEXia & Shang
The king held at Youli
The Zhou leader was imprisoned at Youli by the last Shang king and, by tradition, worked out the hexagrams there.
1130sPeopleSong
Yue Fei of Tangyin
A general from Tangyin who fought the Jin and was executed by his own court; his temple at the birthplace is a pilgrimage site.
What to eat in Anyang
Flat Noodle Soup
扁粉菜Breakfast noodles with greens and chilli oil, eaten standing at the stall.
Morning stalls near the old city
Daokou Roast Chicken
道口烧鸡Slow-braised chicken, eaten cold, sold by weight and packed for the train.
Daokou town, Hua County
“This is the room where Chinese writing stops being theory. The pits are still open to the sky.”
Yinxu
Arrive, then move slowly
- Gateway
- Anyang East railway
- Rail access
- Direct high-speed rail
- Time needed
- 1 days · 3 h of site time
Rail times below are planning estimates, not timetable data. Confirm departures before booking.
Nearby by rail
| City | Distance | Est. rail |
|---|---|---|
| Hebi 鹤壁 | 41 km | 0h 45m |
| Linzhou 林州 | 52 km | 0h 49m |
| Puyang 濮阳 | 69 km | 0h 54m |
| Weihui 卫辉 | 83 km | 0h 59m |