Huangliang
County, located in the middle of Shanxi Province, is best
known for the tomb of Haung Di, also known as the Yellow
Emperor, the legendary chief of the Xia tribe living in
the Yellow River valley during the primitive society.
After defeating and forming a coalition with the Yan tribe,
he united the Chinese nation. Under his leadership, the
people cultivated the middle and lower reaches of the
Yellow River, developed sericulture, created the written
language and the Chinese calendar, and thus laid the foundation
for Chinese civilization. Huang Di, or the Yellow Emperor,
has since then been revered as the common ancestor of
the Chinese nation for thousands of years.
Haung
Di's Tomb is on top of Mount Qiaoshan, a magnificent cypress-covered
hill one kilometer north of Huangling County town. It
is 3.6 meters high and 48 meters in circumference, built
by Emperor Wu (6 B.C. - A.D. 57) of the Han Dynasty.
On
the eastern slope of the hill is Huang Di Temple, which
houses more than fifty stone tablets left from the Northern
Song praise of Huang Di in the Han, Manchu, and Mongolian
languages. In the temple compound are ancient cypresses,
the tallest of which is 19 meters high and 10 meters in
diameter. They are said to have been planted by the Yellow
Emperor himself.
Huangling
County is best reached by taking a train from Xi'an and
visitors can stay at the local hotel.
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