The China provinces of Shaanxi and Henan are both remarkable for the depth and breadth of their history. The region itself is dusty, harsh and unwelcoming, with a climate of extremes; in winter, strong winds bring yellow dust storms, while summer is hot and officially the rainy season. But, thanks to the Yellow River, this was the cradle of Chinese history, and for millennia the centre of power for a string of dynasties, the remains of whose capital cities are strung out along the southern stretch of the plain.

Traces of Neolithic settlements are thick along the river - the homes of farmers, fishermen and excellent potters - but there was no large-scale building until the time of the Shang dynasty (1600 -1066 BC), who also left behind written records. For the next three thousand years this small strip of the Yellow River basin saw the development of the Chinese state and civilization - a development constantly threatened by tribes from the north and by the perils of the river itself, but steady nonetheless. The Zhou dynasty, masters of north China from about 1000 BC, established a capital near Xi'an, moving on to Luoyang after this had been sacked. After them came the great emperor Qin Shi Huang, who by 221 BC had established a dominion which stretched from the Great Wall in the north to regions far south of the Yellow River. The next dynasty, the Han, also had their capital near Xi'an. This was a period in which the establishment of the Silk Road through Central Asia to Syria, and the rich trade with the West which followed, greatly strengthened the Yellow River area. Other influences came down the road too, most importantly Buddhism . At Xi'an, magnificent capital of the Tang dynasty (618-907), there were more than a hundred temples alone, and five of the ten main schools of Buddhism in China originated here. It was under the Tang that the cities of the Yellow River basin appeared to reach the zenith of their prosperity and power, but with hindsight it is clear that the economic balance had long been shifting to the south. The Grand Canal , completed in 608, linking the Yangzi and the Yellow rivers, strengthened the Yangzi basin's position as China's food bowl and the main source of the empire's finances. Kaifeng, which became the Song capital in 960, was the last on the Yellow River: in 1127 a further wave of invasions forced the imperial court to retreat to the south.

Of these ancient capitals, none is more impressive today than thriving Xi'an , the capital of Shaanxi Province, and perhaps the most cosmopolitan city you will find in China outside the eastern seaboard. At the same time, it retains copious evidence of its former glories, most spectacularly in the tomb guards of Qin Shi Huang, the renowned Terracotta Army , but also in a host of temples and museums. The whole area is crowded with buildings which reflect the development of Chinese Buddhism from its earliest days; one of the finest is the Baima Si in Luoyang , a city farther east, thought by the ancient Chinese to be the centre of the universe. The temple is still today a Buddhist centre, and the last resting place of monks who carried sutras back along the road from India. The Longmen Caves , just outside the city, are among the most impressive works of art in China, but also rewarding are excursions in the area around, where two holy mountains, Hua Shan and Song Shan , one Buddhist, one Taoist, offer a welcome diversion from the monumentality of the cities. Zhengzhou , farther east, the capital of Henan, has little to offer beyond comfort, but the town of Kaifeng , the Song-dynasty capital farther east, is a pretty and quiet little place, though scant remains of its past thanks to its proximity to the treacherous Yellow River. The city of Anyang , just north of here, remains a backwater with an impressive archeological heritage - you can inspect what little remains of the Shang dynasty in the museum here. If you've had enough of the relics of ancient cultures, check out Yan'an in high northern Shaanxi, the isolated base high in the loess plateau to which the Long March led Mao in 1937. Or for an impressive achievement of the 1960s visit the Red Flag Canal at Linxian in northern Henan.