The 3,600-year-old city of Zhengzhou, capital city of central China's Henan Province, has been added to China's list of ancient cities, bringing the number to eight.

The other seven cities are Xi'an, Beijing, Nanjing, Luoyang, Kaifeng, and Anyang in Henan as well as Hangzhou, capital of the southeastern Zhejiang province.

As early as 3,500 years ago, it became the capital of the Shang Dynasty (Sixteenth - eleventh centuries B.C.) which together with ancient Egypt, India, and Babylon, was considered to be one of the oldest civilizations of the world.

Today cultural relics and historical sites abound in and around the city, attracting more and more tourists and archaeologists both from China and abroad.

At Anyang, a town to the north of Zhengzhou, tourists can visit ruins of the Shang Dynasty.

(China.org.cn CRIENGLISH.com November 8, 2004)