Shangqiu is located in the eastern part of Henan. From Zhengzhou it was a 1.5 hour ride on a high-speed D train. My return was on a regular K train, which took 3 hours due to a delay. I was told that Shangqiu is a typical Henan city. I am not sure what that means but it has about 8 million people and is not considered a large city. There are some historical sites in Shangqiu. Shangqiu is not known for any particular food or dish but my friend did take me to a very nice local restaurant that served very good chinese dishes.
After lunch, we took a taxi to The Temple of Hua Mulan (yes, that Mulan) that was built during the Tang Dynasty. Through the gate, you will walk through Shangqiu Ancient Town. You could take a taxi or a small transport , but it is better to walk if you have the time. The narrow street was congested with traffic in some parts especially near the Zhuanghui Temple of Hou Fangyu. The streets are filled with various food vendors and local stores. At the end of the street is another gate that leads to the lake area.
From here you can see the ancient city wall extend over the lake. We took a nice relaxing walk around the lake. You can also rent boats to take on the lake, but it seemed too cold for that. We came across a small amusement park, where we did have lots of fun on the bumper cars. I also had my Chinese name drawn on a scroll.
Shangqiu is a nice city and it was an enjoyable day trip to get out of Zhengzhou for a while.