Xuchang

Xuchang, in central Henan, was the political heart of China during the late Han dynasty, when the warlord Cao Cao made it his base and effectively controlled the emperor here. Because of that legacy the city is steeped in Three Kingdoms history, celebrated at the Spring and Autumn Tower honoring the loyal general Guan Yu and at the reconstructed Cao Wei Ancient City. The nearby town of Shenhou in Yuzhou is a historic center of Jun porcelain, one of the Five Great Wares of the Song dynasty. Today Xuchang is a manufacturing hub known for electrical equipment and, unusually, for supplying much of the world's human-hair wigs. High-speed rail on the Beijing-Guangzhou line links it to Zhengzhou in twenty minutes.