Discover Ruzhou, Home of Ru Porcelain

Updated: 2010-09-15 11:35

(China Daily)

  Comments() Print Mail Large Medium  Small 分享按钮 0

Ruzhou, a city of west-central Henan province, lies supine with Mount Funiu in the south and Mount Songqi in the north and Beiru River running through it from west to east, forming a landscape of “two high mounts on both sides and a stretch of plain with a river in the middle.”

Ruzhou has a total area of 1,573 square kilometers, consisting of 4 towns, 11 villages and 455 administrative villages, with a total population of 947,000 people. Ruzhou has been awarded many titles for its development and environment, including the Reform and Opening up Experimental City, Urbanization-Quickening Key City, Charm City with Chinese Characteristic, Sanitary City of the Province, and Civilization-Building Advanced City of the Province.

Ruzhou has a long history and profound cultural foundation with various cultural landscapes. As long as five or six hundred thousand years ago, our ancestors already lived and multiplied here, making it one of the birthplaces of Yangshao Culture and Longshan Culture. To date, 23 dwelling sites of ancient humans from the Old Stone Age to the New Stone Age in primitive society have been excavated. The unearthed ancient painted pottery jar of A Stork holding A Fish in Its Mouth is the largest as well as the most complete pottery painting in China, dating back 6,000 years, and ranking first in the list of 64 relics forbidden for overseas exhibits. Ruzhou has many scenic spots and historic sites, including Fengxue Temple, Zhanggongxiang Kiln-site, Faxingsi Pagoda and Ruzhou Confucian Temple, all of which are National Cultural Heritage Units under State protection.