Culture is the spiritual lifeblood of a nation and the soul of a city. Cultural prosperity marks a key dimension of Chinese modernization, and embodies the most enduring, profound strength a city can possess.
As one of China's Eight Great Ancient Capitals and a national historical and cultural city, Zhengzhou is home to 8,000-year-old Peiligang Culture, 6,000-year-old Dahecun Culture and the 3,600-year-old Shang Dynasty capital site. It boasts iconic sites including the Hometown of the Yellow Emperor, the Shaolin Temple on Songshan Mountain and the Shang City Site, telling the one-of-a-kind story of the origins of Chinese civilization.
In recent years, Zhengzhou has rolled out popular landmark tourism destinations such as Unique Henan · Land of Drama, Zhengzhou Memory · 1952 Creative Park and New Bodu.
This rich cultural heritage fuels Zhengzhou's contribution to building a strong cultural nation. It also underpins the city's strengths and potential to advance integrated culture-tourism development, grow cultural undertakings and industries, and build itself into a major cultural and tourism hub.
Zhengzhou bears witness to the uninterrupted, thriving Chinese civilization stretching back more than 5,000 years and serves as a focal point for the civilization's spiritual symbols. It enjoys unique strengths in safeguarding the core lineage of Chinese civilization and showcasing its early development.
The Peiligang, Shuanghuaishu and Shang City Site are among China's Top 100 Archaeological Discoveries of the Century. Stone Inscriptions of Shaolin Temple (566–1990) have been inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. With 16 entries in China's Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries, Zhengzhou is the national leader. Museums, cultural programs and industries across the city are flourishing.
Endowed with profound history and rich cultural-tourism resources, building a leading cultural and tourism city is not merely how Zhengzhou burnishes its brand — "Center of Heaven and Earth, Hometown of the Yellow Emperor, Kung Fu City". It also represents a key growth driver to draw visitors, boost consumption, revitalize local communities and power socioeconomic progress.
Zhengzhou has sped up its efforts to develop into a top cultural-tourism city and an international consumption hub, delivering solid results in promoting cultural prosperity.
Enjoyland International Tourism Resort has earned national tourist resort status. Unique Henan · Land of Drama is part of China's first batch of 5G-enabled smart tourism pilot projects, while the "Shaolin Zen Music Ritual" is featured on the national roster of premier tourist performances.
In 2025, Zhengzhou welcomed 180 million domestic tourist arrivals and 329,700 overnight inbound tourist arrivals, with tourism revenue hitting 220.67 billion yuan.
This July, upon approval by the State Council, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism released the 15th Five-Year Plan for Building a Tourism Powerhouse, designating Zhengzhou as a national tourism hub.
Focusing on the six elements of tourism — catering, accommodation, transportation, sightseeing, shopping and entertainment — and implementing the "cultural tourism plus" strategy, Zhengzhou has fostered a host of new models, business forms and experience scenarios. Such initiatives are steadily turning one-off visitor traffic into repeat visits and fleeting viral fame into enduring popularity, breathing new life into the city’s cultural and tourism sector.
