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Pingdingshan city, located in the central part of Henan province, is an excellent tourism destination city and one of the nine backbone cities in the central plain area. Pingdingshan administers 10 counties (cities and districts) in a total area of 7,882 square kilometers, with a population of five million. The city is situated between the trunk lines of Beijing-Guangzhou Railway and Jiaozuo-Zhicheng Railway, home to 400km long railways in the boundary. It is 100km away from Xinzheng International Airport. Four expressways traverse through the city to connect it with the national highway network, offering convenient transportation conditions.
As shown in archaeological discoveries, Pingdingshan is home to relics of Peiligang Culture, Yangshao Culture, and Longshan Culture of the Neolithic Age in the primitive society. Historical records could be dated back to 1324 B.C. Classic works of the Book of Songs, Analects of Confucius and Classic of River and Mountains show records of the place. During the Western Zhou period, Pingdingshan was a manor of Marquis Ying, of the imperial clan. Eagle was taken as the totem of Kingdom Ying. Thereby, Pingdingshan is also referred to as Eagle City. In 526 B.C., Confucius and Lord Ye discussed the strategies of managing state affairs in this place, leaving a famous remark for running a country, saying "Make happy those who are near and, those who are far will come.” To date, the city has 14 cultural relics under national protection, and 38 cultural relics under provincial protection. The Fragrance Mountain Temple, built in eastern Han Dynasty, was among the earliest Buddhism temples in the country. It was the place where Avalokitesvara attained the way. Thus, it is the cultural source of the Avalokitesvara culture passed down from Han Dynasty. The Fengxue Temple, built in northern Wei period, has 1,500 years history. It is listed as one the top four famous temples in the central plain area, along with White Horse Temple, Shaolin Temple and Xiangguo Temple.
The Ru official ware site at Qingliang Temple and Kingdom Ying tomb site are key archaeological discoveries in the country. The Su mausoleums are tombs of Su Xun, Su Shi and Su Zhe, the father and sons, and great men of letters of Song Dynasty. Yexian County government office is the only extant of its kind of the Ming Dynasty in the country.
The annual Majie book fair, having lasted for 700 years, is a miracle in the Chinese culture history. Pingdingshan is named Chinese Folk Art City.
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