Jiaozuo

Jiaozuo lies in northern Henan between the Taihang Mountains and the Yellow River, historically a coal-mining city that has reinvented itself as one of the province's premier tourist destinations. Its centerpiece is Yuntai Mountain, a UNESCO Global Geopark famed for red sandstone canyons, the Hongshixia gorge and the 314-meter Yuntai Waterfall, one of China's tallest. Just south, the village of Chenjiagou in Wen County is revered worldwide as the birthplace of Chen-style Taijiquan (Tai Chi), drawing martial-arts pilgrims from many countries. The Wen County plains are also known for prized four Huai medicinal herbs, including iron-stick Chinese yam. As its mines declined, tourism, aluminum and new industries took over. High-speed and conventional rail connect Jiaozuo to Zhengzhou and Luoyang.