Henan, Heart and Soul of China Often flat as a board, the plains of Henan are lined with poplar plantations, dotted with fish farms and fields of winter wheat: at first glance, little reason to linger. Since the time of the Shang the Yellow River basin has nurtured one Chinese dynasty after another, the ancient capitals rising and falling in turn. Cities like Zhengzhou and Kaifeng, stitched together by expressways, repay a closer examination of the legacies of thousands of years of Chinese civilisation. And if the locals warm to you, they just might reveal their ancient culinary arts too: fried scorpion, anyone?

These images were taken with Nikon D200 (10 mpx) using RAW format, and are available for licensing.