Just a Few Hours From Beijing, Anyang Takes You More Than 3,000 Years Back
Beijing gives a first-time traveler an enormous amount of Chinese history.
The:
Forbidden City.
Great Wall.
Temple of Heaven.
Summer Palace.
Ming.
Qing.
Imperial China everywhere.
So why would Dad tell you to get on another train?
😂
Because a few hours south of Beijing sits:
Anyang (安阳, Ānyáng)
in Henan Province (河南省, Hénán Shěng).
And Anyang can do something Beijing cannot.
IT CAN TAKE YOU BACK MORE THAN 3,000 YEARS.
🔥
Not to another imperial palace.
Not to another Great Wall section.
But into the world of:
SHANG 商
and toward the transition into:
ZHOU 周.
For Dad & Elaine, Anyang eventually opened three completely different historical rabbit holes:
YINXU 殷墟
Hear the Shang speak.
CHINESE WRITING 中国文字
Follow the written tradition for more than 3,000 years.
YOULICHENG 羑里城
Meet the future King Wen while Shang still rules.
Three dishes.
One city.
😂🍚🍚🍚
And that’s why Dad thinks Anyang deserves:
2–3 NIGHTS
rather than being treated as another rushed stop between Beijing and Xi’an.
🚄 First Things First — How Do You Get to Anyang?
This is much easier than the history makes it sound.
😂
Anyang is connected to China’s high-speed rail network through:
Anyang East Railway Station (安阳东站, Ānyáng Dōngzhàn).
From Beijing, high-speed trains can make the journey in roughly:
2½–3 HOURS
depending on the service.
That gives Dad one of his favorite China-travel propositions:
BREAKFAST IN BEIJING.
BRONZE AGE CHINA AFTER LUNCH.
🔥
If you’re already traveling:
BEIJING → XI’AN
Anyang can also work naturally as an intermediate historical stop rather than a completely separate expedition.
Train schedules and fares change, so check your actual date on:
China Railway 12306
or:
Trip.com
before traveling.
🪜 Western Travel Handrail: Don’t Think “Another City”
First-time China travelers already have too many cities.
😂
Beijing.
Xi’an.
Chengdu.
Shanghai.
Maybe Zhangjiajie.
Maybe Guilin.
So Dad is NOT asking:
“Would you like another Chinese city to collect?”
Think of Anyang differently.
ANYANG IS A TIME MACHINE BETWEEN BEIJING AND XI’AN.
Beijing gives you later imperial China.
Xi’an gives you Qin, Han and Tang.
Anyang takes you much further backward:
INTO THE BRONZE AGE.
That fills a historical gap rather than merely adding another destination.
🍽️ Dad’s Anyang Tasting Menu
If you’re wondering why Anyang needs more than one day, here’s the simple answer.
It contains:
THREE DIFFERENT HISTORICAL EXPERIENCES.
Don’t mash them together.
😂
🍚 DISH 1 — Yinxu 殷墟: Hear the Shang Speak
Start here.
Yinxu (殷墟, Yīnxū)
is the archaeological site of the major late Shang royal center around Anyang and a:
UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE.
🔥
Here you encounter:
palace and temple remains,
royal tombs,
bronze culture,
workshops,
burials
and something extraordinary:
ORACLE-BONE INSCRIPTIONS.
甲骨文 — jiǎgǔwén
These aren’t simply later stories about Shang.
They are:
WORDS PRODUCED INSIDE THE SHANG WORLD ITSELF.
Questions about:
rain,
harvests,
war,
ritual,
health,
childbirth
and:
royal ancestors.
😳
Ancient China stops being silent.
👩 And Meet Fu Hao
At Yinxu, one name becomes wonderfully human:
Fu Hao (妇好, Fù Hǎo).
She was a consort of:
King Wu Ding (武丁, Wǔ Dīng)
and appears in contemporary oracle-bone inscriptions associated with:
military activity,
ritual,
health
and:
pregnancy.
Then archaeologists discovered her largely undisturbed tomb in:
1976.
🔥
Now we have:
WRITING
+
A NAMED PERSON
+
A TOMB
+
MATERIAL EVIDENCE.
That’s Yinxu at its best.
🐇 Want the full archaeology rabbit?
Beyond Beijing: Go to Yinxu 殷墟 — Where the Shang Dynasty Speaks in Its Own Words
🍚 DISH 2 — Follow Chinese Writing for More Than 3,000 Years
After Yinxu, Dad had another problem.
😂
He kept staring at the:
CHARACTERS.
Some ancient forms looked remarkably visual.
Sun.
Moon.
Mountain.
Tree.
Person.
And that opened a much bigger question:
How did Chinese writing develop — and why did the written word become so important to Chinese civilization?
Fortunately, Anyang has exactly the museum for that:
National Museum of Chinese Writing
中国文字博物馆
Zhōngguó Wénzì Bówùguǎn
🔥
Here the rabbit can run from:
甲骨文
oracle-bone inscriptions
↓
金文
bronze inscriptions
↓
later scripts
↓
篆书
seal script
↓
隶书
clerical script
↓
楷书
regular script
↓
and eventually:
THE CHARACTERS ON ELAINE’S PHONE.
😂📱
✍️ But This Isn’t Only a Story About Characters
This was Dad’s bigger takeaway.
Across China’s history, people in different regions could speak very differently.
Even today, Chinese regional speech varieties can be:
NOT MUTUALLY INTELLIGIBLE.
Yet people could participate in a shared:
WRITTEN TRADITION.
And China developed an extraordinary habit of:
WRITING THINGS DOWN.
Questions on bone.
Commands in bronze.
Books on bamboo.
Histories.
Government records.
Genealogies.
Local gazetteers.
Steles.
Classics.
Commentaries.
Printing.
🔥
Dad eventually stopped asking only:
“How old are Chinese characters?”
and started asking:
“Did this enormous written tradition become one of the ways Chinese civilization kept talking to its own past?”
That’s a much bigger rabbit.
🐇 Want the full writing rabbit?
Deep China: From Oracle Bones to Your Phone — Why Chinese Writing Matters So Much
🍚 DISH 3 — Youlicheng 羑里城: Watch Shang Begin Turning Into Zhou
Now change perspective again.
At Yinxu:
SHANG STILL RULES.
Then go to:
Youlicheng (羑里城, Yǒulǐchéng).
Here Chinese historical tradition remembers:
Ji Chang (姬昌, Jī Chāng)
— the future:
King Wen of Zhou (周文王, Zhōu Wénwáng)
— being detained under Shang power.
🔥
That’s what makes Youlicheng so interesting.
We know what happens later.
ZHOU WINS.
But at Youli:
IT HASN’T HAPPENED YET.
The future founding figure is still living under the political order his family will eventually replace.
☯️ And King Wen Opens Another Rabbit
Chinese cultural tradition also connects King Wen’s confinement with the development of:
《周易》 — Zhōuyì
Changes of Zhou
which became part of the classical tradition known as:
《易经》 — Yìjīng
Classic of Changes / I Ching.
And suddenly Youlicheng takes us from:
POLITICAL CHANGE
into:
THINKING ABOUT CHANGE ITSELF.
阴 and 阳.
八卦.
King Wen.
The 64 hexagrams.
Confucian interpretation.
And eventually a text traditionally honored as:
群经之首
“the foremost of the Classics.”
🔥
That’s another entire dish.
🐇 Want the King Wen rabbit?
Deep China: Youlicheng 羑里城 — When the Future Zhou King Was a Prisoner of Shang
🧥 Dad’s Anyang Coat Rack
If those three dishes have already become too much:
😂
keep this:
YINXU
SEE SHANG
↓
CHINESE WRITING MUSEUM
FOLLOW THE WORDS
↓
YOULICHENG
WATCH SHANG TURN TOWARD ZHOU
🔥
That’s Anyang.
Three very different reasons to stay.
🗓️ How Many Nights?
Dad’s answer:
2 NIGHTS MINIMUM.
3 NIGHTS IF YOU’VE BEEN STUNG.
😂🐞
For a history-focused traveler, Dad would roughly think:
DAY 1
ARRIVE + CHINESE WRITING MUSEUM
This is a good first course.
You begin understanding the characters before confronting the full archaeological landscape.
DAY 2
YINXU
Give it proper time.
This is:
THE MAIN COURSE.
Don’t squeeze a UNESCO Bronze Age capital, oracle bones and Fu Hao between lunch and another train.
😂
DAY 3
YOULICHENG
If staying the third night—or leaving later that day—use this to complete the:
SHANG → ZHOU
story.
Now Anyang becomes a historical sequence rather than a collection of attractions.
🚗 How Do You Move Around?
Anyang is not a destination where Dad would insist on one transport method for everything.
For:
CITY SITES
Didi/taxi is generally the obvious practical option.
For:
OUTLYING SITES
such as Youlicheng, Dad would consider:
DIDI / PRIVATE CAR
or:
CAR + KNOWLEDGEABLE LOCAL GUIDE
depending on your itinerary.
🔥
And for a history-heavy Anyang journey, a genuinely knowledgeable guide can add a lot.
Because a driver answers:
WHERE?
A good guide helps answer:
WHY?
🧠 Ask for a History Guide
If arranging one, Dad wouldn’t merely ask:
“English-speaking Anyang guide.”
Try:
“We’re particularly interested in Shang history, Yinxu, oracle bones, Chinese writing, King Wen and the Shang–Zhou transition.”
🔥
That immediately tells the operator:
WE’RE NOT JUST COLLECTING ATTRACTIONS.
Interpretation matters here.
🏨 Where Should You Stay?
For most first-time international visitors, Dad would favor:
CENTRAL ANYANG
rather than trying to stay beside one individual historical site.
Why?
Because you’re visiting:
A CLUSTER.
Yinxu.
Chinese Writing Museum.
Restaurants.
City services.
Then Youlicheng farther out.
A central base makes the trip easier to manage.
🪜 Western Travel Handrail: Base Camp, Not Attraction Hotel
Think:
BASE CAMP.
😂
You don’t need to wake up looking directly at an oracle bone.
Stay somewhere convenient.
Then travel outward to the historical sites.
For a multi-site city like Anyang:
LOCATION + TRANSPORT
matter more than:
“Which hotel is closest to one ancient site?”
⏱️ Don’t Rush the Museums
This is Dad’s warning.
Anyang can become:
HISTORICAL CARDIO.
😭😂
Yinxu.
Oracle bones.
Fu Hao.
Chinese writing.
King Wen.
Yijing.
Shang.
Zhou.
If you attempt to:
LEARN EVERYTHING
you’ll remember:
NOTHING.
Dad’s rule:
ONE BIG IDEA PER PLACE.
Yinxu:
The Shang left words of their own.
Writing Museum:
China built an extraordinary written memory.
Youlicheng:
Before Zhou won, its future founder was still under Shang power.
🔥
That’s enough.
The rabbits can wait until dinner.
🚄 Where Does Anyang Fit in a First China Trip?
This is the important strategic question.
Dad would NOT automatically insert Anyang into every:
10-DAY FIRST CHINA ITINERARY.
If you’re already racing through:
Beijing,
Xi’an,
Chengdu
and:
Shanghai…
please don’t add another city because Dad found some oracle bones exciting.
😭😂
But if you have:
14–21 DAYS
and Chinese history is becoming one of the reasons you enjoy China…
Anyang becomes very tempting.
Especially because it sits naturally between the great northern travel hubs.
🔥 Beijing → Anyang → Xi’an
For a history-curious traveler, this sequence is magnificent:
BEIJING
Ming + Qing imperial China
↓
ANYANG
Shang + origins of written historical evidence
↓
XI’AN
Qin + Han + Tang
😳
You’re not merely moving:
NORTH → WEST.
You’re moving through:
THOUSANDS OF YEARS.
🐇 And If You’ve Really Been Stung…
Then Dad’s version gets dangerous.
😂
ANYANG
↓
YOULICHENG
↓
travel west
↓
QISHAN 岐山
↓
ZHOUYUAN 周原
↓
BAOJI 宝鸡
↓
XI’AN 西安
🔥🔥🔥
Now you’ve physically followed:
SHANG
↓
THE RISING ZHOU
↓
THE ZHOU HOMELAND
↓
EARLY ZHOU BRONZES
↓
QIN
😳
That’s no longer:
A CHINA ITINERARY.
That’s:
A HISTORY TRAIL.
😂🐇
And Dad absolutely understands if you don’t want one.
🐞 Final Sting — Why Stop in Anyang?
Don’t stop because:
“Anyang has three attractions.”
Stop because it gives you three different ways into ancient China:
YINXU
archaeology gives Shang a place and a voice
CHINESE WRITING
words connect people across regions and generations
YOULICHENG
the Shang world begins turning toward Zhou
🔥
Three dishes.
One historical kitchen.
And all surprisingly reachable from:
BEIJING.
Dad’s advice?
If you only want China’s greatest headline attractions:
KEEP GOING TO XI’AN.
No problem.
But if Yinxu’s oracle bones have already made you ask:
“Wait… how do we actually KNOW ancient Chinese history?”
then perhaps:
GET OFF THE TRAIN IN ANYANG
😂🐢🔥
