Located in Beiying Village, Sanmenxia City, Henan Province, Shanzhou silo-caves are among the oldest living quarters in China and the world. Opened to public in 2016, the caves have since received 800,000 tourists a year on average, with an annual tourism revenue of 25 million RMB . To address the poverty situation in Beiying Village with the silo-cave tourism resources, the Scenic Zone and Beiying Village over the years have jointly pursued a strategy of relying on the silo-case resources, developing rural tourism, providing jobs, so as to lift the people out of poverty. Measures were taken to give priority to hiring poor people to work in the businesses and, in particular cases create jobs for them. Since 2016, Baiweixiang (Hundred-flavor Alley) in the scenic zone has employed 96 villagers from Beiying Village to work in its restaurants; Baiyiyuan (Hundred Arts Street) employed 69 villagers in its retail businesses, and the sanitation and security departments provided jobs for 216 villagers. In Beiying Village with a population of nearly 1,000 people, almost every family now has someone engaged in work related to tourism. Beiying Village has realized an annual tourism revenue of 4 million RMB. The villagers’ earned 4,000 RMB per capita annually through tourism as an additional income. The 15 people fit to work of the 13 impoverished households in Beiying Village are now all working in the scenic zone. The whole village has been lifted out of poverty 100%.

Located in Beiying Village, Sanmenxia City, Henan Province, Shanzhou silo-caves are among the oldest living quarters in China and the world. Opened to public in 2016, the caves have since received 800,000 tourists a year on average, with an annual tourism revenue of 25 million RMB . To address the poverty situation in Beiying Village with the silo-cave tourism resources, the Scenic Zone and Beiying Village over the years have jointly pursued a strategy of relying on the silo-case resources, developing rural tourism, providing jobs, so as to lift the people out of poverty. Measures were taken to give priority to hiring poor people to work in the businesses and, in particular cases create jobs for them. Since 2016, Baiweixiang (Hundred-flavor Alley) in the scenic zone has employed 96 villagers from Beiying Village to work in its restaurants; Baiyiyuan (Hundred Arts Street) employed 69 villagers in its retail businesses, and the sanitation and security departments provided jobs for 216 villagers. In Beiying Village with a population of nearly 1,000 people, almost every family now has someone engaged in work related to tourism. Beiying Village has realized an annual tourism revenue of 4 million RMB. The villagers’ earned 4,000 RMB per capita annually through tourism as an additional income. The 15 people fit to work of the 13 impoverished households in Beiying Village are now all working in the scenic zone. The whole village has been lifted out of poverty 100%.
A silo-cave before and after renovation
Baiweixiang (Hundred-flavor Alley)
Wedding show Photo by Jia Jiao
Bird's-eye view of the silo-caves Photo by Ma Mai
Shanzhou Lantern Show Photo by Zhang Chunhong
Ten-bowl meal in Shanzhou
Henan Province 1.Yin Ruins 2.Longmen Grottoes 3.Shaolin Monastery
Yin Ruins, located in Anyang City, Henan Province, was the seat of the ancient capital of the Shang Daynasty in its late period. It became famous after a large number of architectural remains, oracle bone inscriptions and bronzes were excavated at the site, which bear witness to the brilliant civilization of the late Shang period. In July 2006, it was inscribed on the World Cultural Heritage List by UNESCO.
Longmen Grottoes, located in Luoyang city, Henan Province, boast the largest treasure house of ancient stone carving art with the largest number of statues in the world, hailed by UNESCO as “the high point of Chinese stone carving”. There are more than 2,100 caves, 100,000 statues and 3,600 inscribed stone tablets at the 1500-year old grottoes.
Shaolin Monastery, located at the foot of Wurufeng Peak of Mount Songshan, Dengfeng, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, is the birthplace of Zen Buddhism of China and the cradle of Chinese Kung Fu. Listed as a World Cultural Heritage Site, it is a world-renowned Buddhist temple. Generations of Shaolin monks have been universally known for continuously studying and developing Shaolin kung fu; hence the quotes “All kung fu under heaven originated from Shaolin” and “Shaolin kung fu is number one under heaven”.