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A Hidden Henan Treasure: Gongyi
Nestled in Henan Province between Luoyang, with its famous Longmen Grotto Caves, and Song Shan, the home of Shaolin Temple, sits Gongyi (巩义), a sleepy town that not many people notice on their rush elsewhere. It takes up only a little patch of hilly land and looks like thousands of other small, unremarkable cities that dot China’s expansive landscape. Yet in spite of its unassuming exterior, Gongyi is one of the country’s great hidden treasures.
Gongyi’s streets are modern enough, albeit fairly run down. Along the hill that slopes down through the town from south to north are small shops and a handful of restaurants that give no indication that anything interesting has ever happened here. In the center of town sits a large non-descript park, Songling Gongyuan (宋陵公园), where children fly kites and seniors go through the deliberate, slow motions of taiji. Were it not for what sits concealed inside this park-a remarkable treasure hundreds of years old-then the city proper would probably have no real reason to visit: just another forgotten town lost in China’s countryside. But if you make your way to the giant structure inside, a huge tomb built for an egomaniacal queen, you will realize that something truly special rests here.
Modeled from the same design that the Forbidden City would use years later, Songling (宋陵) is a site to see. From the outside the tomb looks quite similar to its famous Beijing counterpart: regal and imposing in appearance. A giant homage to a queen who wanted a stately final resting place to cement her place in history, the tomb ironically is all but forgotten in Chinese lore.
At the south end of the self-tribute are larger-than-life stone animals lined up in two rows, at least a dozen meters apart, presumably guarding the shrine. They seem to be doing their job effectively as there is no way to enter the palace. Nonetheless, Songling is amazing in its grandiose style, as is the nonchalant attitude that the residents have toward their piece of Chinese history. Couples casually walk by without taking the slightest notice, and it almost seems as if locals would almost prefer not to have it taking up precious park space.
Were the Song Dynasty Tombs the only attraction in the area, one could argue that the time a trip to Gongyi takes would be better spent elsewhere. As stunning as the tombs are, the town itself is quite sleepy and somewhat mundane. A few hours is enough to take them in and visit the museum at the south end of the park as well. However, the area has a number of often ignored gems that makes a trip well worth it.
The Millionaire Kang’s Residence (康百万庄园) is another testament to dynastic opulence. Built in the early Qing Dynasty the estate has more than 300 rooms spread over a huge swath of land. Sitting three miles away from Gongyi City, the mansion has trenches dug around the outside to keep out intruders and high walls to block curious stares. Although it was built in a completely different era than Songling, taken together the two show that all-but-forgotten Gongyi was once a flashy example of Chinese wealth, even if today it sits in the poorest province in the eastern half of the country.
Gongyi’s importance in history was not confined to the wealth of its elite. It was also once China’s political and cultural hotbed. In 249 BC Emperor Zhuangxing, famed Shi Huangdi’s predecessor, went so far as to make it the Qin Dynasty’s capital. Even more amazingly, some have argued that Gongyi and its neighboring counties nearby the Yellow River represent the birthplace of Chinese civilization. It is hard to dub a single location the cradle of a several-thousand-year-old culture, but the fact that there is a case to be made gives an indication of the city’s importance in history. And the more you look the more interesting sites you find.
Only a few miles away from the mansion sits the final resting place of a man much more humble than the Kang family: famed poet Du Fu. Born in Gongyi County, Du Fu penned more than 1,400 works in the Tang Dynasty, becoming a nationally revered author. The small cemetery (杜甫墓) is one of the most peaceful places in China. As my driver sat patiently smoking at the entrance I walked around the bit of land that serves as a tribute for a cultural legend. For many Westerners the author’s cultural importance is not a great draw. Yet even for those who cannot appreciate Du Fu’s difficult writing, the sheer serenity and beauty of the site make an excursion worthwhile.
His life itself was a remarkable journey. During the An Shi rebellion in the 8th century AD Du Fu was forced from his home and lived as an exile in Chengdu for four years where a thatched cottage still sits as another peaceful reminder of the man’s turbulent life. He died in 770 AD, a poor vagrant with no money to his name. His tribute near Gongyi conveys a sense of finality: even though his life was difficult and tortuous, his cemetery serves as a place for quiet reflection in a boisterous and often overwhelming country.
Along with all of the historical relics scattered around Gongyi, the Henan countryside has one last remarkable treasure hidden literally inside its rolling hills. Whizzing by on the highway between Zhengzhou and Luoyang it is easy to miss what the dots on the landscape are. Yet winding through the smaller roads leading to Du Fu’s cemetery it is impossible not to notice the homes carved into the steep rocks that that surround the concrete pathway through the countryside. (Smaller dots on the landscape are hundreds of Song-era tombs.)
If Henan is in fact the cradle of Chinese civilization, not all of the locals chose to make their way out of the caves and into the cities. Today families continue to live in man-made homes dug into giant slabs of rock. They are not so much the natural formations that you might think of cavemen using in prehistoric times, but rather homes, complete with electricity, sculpted out of the Henan landscape.
As is true in much of the area, locals are extremely friendly, perhaps because of the paucity of visitors. While I was standing near the road peering into an open doorway an elderly woman appeared and invited me inside. The room was dark, but homier than I might have expected. She motioned for me to sit down on the battered, raggedy couch and began to heat up some water for tea. I had never expected to be chatting and drinking tea inside a cave with a complete stranger when I first decided to head to Henan. But like so many other things in Gongyi, experiencing the unexpected is much of the charm.
By far the best place to stay in Gongyi is the PEAK HOTEL (贝克大酒店) 371-643-67888. Make sure to book a room on the 12th floor or higher facing south to get a view of the Song Tombs.
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Terrific history on the town Ernie.