Ancient cypresses
Including the General.
Yumeto — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Windmemories — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Windmemories — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Windmemories — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gisling — CC BY-SA 3.0 · tak.wing — CC BY-SA 2.0 · tak.wing — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Jiulongtang — CC BY-SA 3.0
One of the four great academies of the Song dynasty, on the southern slopes of Mount Song north of Dengfeng; it began in 484 as a Buddhist monastery, became a Taoist temple under the Sui, and in 1035 turned into a school of Confucian learning where the brothers Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi, leading Neo-Confucian philosophers, taught hundreds of students. Courtyards, halls and plain Chinese-style galleries follow one another under ancient cypresses, the best known of which locals call the «General» cypress and count among the oldest cypresses in China, and in 2010 the academy was inscribed on the World Heritage List as part of the «Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in the Centre of Heaven and Earth». Tickets cost CNY 60, the site is open from 8 am to 5.30 pm, and a CNY 80 combined ticket also covers the Songyue Pagoda and other sites, per visitor guides.
Including the General.
In Chinese style.
Behind the academy.
Southern foot of Mount Song, about 3 km north of Dengfeng
Yes if you want more than one site: at about CNY 80 it covers Songyang Academy, the Songyue Pagoda, Taishi Mountain and two temples, while the academy alone costs 60, per visitor guides.
Look in town for restaurants run by Hui Muslims under the halal sign, such as lamb huimian noodle shops, or bring food from Zhengzhou.