Henan Solo Free Travel 1 - Shangqiu

In April 2021, I had a brief tour along the Luoyang-Anyang-Zhengzhou-Kaifeng route in Henan, and I have also visited several times for work reasons over the years. My impression of Henan has always been very good; while its tourism resources may not be top-tier, it certainly provides top-tier tourism services. Therefore, when choosing a destination for my Spring Festival trip this time, I decided to visit Henan again. In February 2024, I followed the route from Shangqiu to Kaifeng-Luoyang-Xuchang-Zhengzhou-Jiaozuo, filling in the gaps I had missed before. The first stop of the trip -- Shangqiu, is very close to my hometown Xuzhou. I took a high-speed train at 8:30 in the morning and arrived in 50 minutes. Shangqiu has only one train station, where ordinary and express trains enter from the south entrance, and high-speed trains from the north entrance. After getting off the train, I took a taxi directly to the Yingtian Academy. The main attractions are concentrated nearby, collectively known as the Shangqiu Ancient Cultural Tourism Area. The joint ticket for the scenic area is 35 yuan, which is a bargain. It was the second day of the Lunar New Year, and due to traffic control, ride-hailing cars could only reach the south gate of Shangqiu Ancient City (P2), and Yingtian Academy (P1) required about a 1-kilometer walk east from there. When planning the trip, I had already set my expectations low enough, as Shangqiu's history has been buried underground with the layering of cities, and there are not many ancient buildings to see. But upon arrival, I found that -- there was still much room for my expectations to drop. Once the glory of the Imperial Academy and the foremost of the four great academies during the Northern Song Dynasty, Yingtian Academy during Fan Zhongyan's tenure was infinitely splendid. A thousand years later, only desolation remains. The empty academy is narrow in size, and they even seem reluctant to plant a few more trees. Two large halls (P3, P4) stand alone in the courtyard, and the characters on the plaques (P5) have peeled off and are illegible, highlighting the carelessness and perfunctory nature of the renovations. It is truly a case of regret for not coming, and even more regret after coming. To the west of the south gate of the ancient city is the Zhang Xun Shrine (P6), which was built with much more care than Yingtian Academy. The shrine was rebuilt in the 1990s, but behind the main hall (P7), next to the tomb (P8), there is a Ming Dynasty stone stele inscribed by Sun Chuanting, the then magistrate of Shangqiu. Shangqiu was known as Suiyang during the Tang Dynasty, and during the An Lushan Rebellion, Zhang Xun, a scholar, held off an enemy army of over a hundred thousand with just a few thousand men, defending the isolated city for two years and saving millions of people in the Jianghuai region from the chaos of war. Eight hundred years later, Sun Chuanting, also a successful imperial examinee, built a shrine and erected a stele for Zhang Xun, a gesture of respect between heroes and a declaration of his own aspirations. One wonders if he foresaw that he too would become a bulwark for the nation in times of turmoil. The Ba Guan Zhai (P9) is located opposite the Zhang Xun Shrine and is quite inconspicuous. The stone tablet under the pavilion is the 'Record of the Tang and Song Dynasty Officials' Eight Guan Zhai Gratitude Meeting' (P10), which is a replica; the original is in the room behind. Only two sections (P11) remain, which are from the Tang Dynasty and inscribed by Yan Zhenqing himself. Despite the fragmentary nature of the stele, one can still feel the 'strength in every stroke' of Yan's calligraphy. Since I was only staying in Shangqiu for three hours, I gave up on visiting other attractions like Han Liang Park and Huoshen Platform, and took a taxi back to the train station to catch a high-speed train to Kaifeng. By the way, the only 5A tourist attraction in Shangqiu is Mangdang Mountain. Located in Yongcheng City, its main feature is the Han Liang Xiaowang Tomb, which has high archaeological value but not much tourism value. To bundle it for the 5A application, several very humorous modern attractions were built. It's a very 'watered-down' 5A site, and transportation is not convenient, so it's not necessary for non-local tourists to visit.