History of Zhengzhou  The history of Zhengzhou, a city that is today the provincial capital of Henan Province, China. spans over 10,000 years from its beginnings as a Neolithic settlement to its emergence as a trading port during the final years of the Qing Dynasty. Balls from the Lijiagou site () unearthed in Xinmi, Zhengzhou date to between 10,500 and 8,600 years ago and show evidence of stone tools from the early and late Neolithic periods at a time when the area's inhabitants made the transition between purely hunting for their livelihood to concurrently cultivating cereals. In Xinzheng, Zhengzhou, 8,000-year-old relics of Peiligang culture show that at the time local people raised livestock and engaged in the production of handicrafts as they expanded from their original base in the Yellow River Basin to develop the foundations of Chinese culture. The large scale Zhengzhou Dahecun Ruins () provide a model example of Yangshao culture with many well preserved building foundations in a unique "Wood & Bone" () architectural style that provide an important resource for research into ancient Chinese constructions methods. From the time that the legendary Five Emperors ruled China through the Xia dynasty to the advent of the Shang dynasty, Zhengzhou served as the axis of Chinese civilization. About 5,000 years ago the primogenitor of the Chinese people, Xuanyuan () later known as Yellow Emperor (Huangdi) was born at Xuanyuan's Mound (). When Xuanyuan was 37 years old, he established his capital at Xinzheng while according to legend his 25 sons went on to found the Xia and Shang dynasties as well as providing leaders for the early Zhou dynasty. The old ruins of Xishan () marked a significant milestone in the development of Chinese architectural development, paving the way for large scale city wall construction and later developments in construction techniques. Between 2070 BCE and 1600 BCE, Yu the Great, first leader of the Xia dynasty established his capital at Wanchenggang () in Yancheng (now Dengfeng). Mount Song became the center of the Xia civilization based around the upper reaches of the Yi, Luo and Ying river basins as well as parts of southwest Shanxi Province. From the time of Qi of Xia to King Tang of Shang the Shang Tribe migrated eight times then in 1675 BCE, King Tang invoked the mandate of heaven and attacked and overthrew the Xia capital at Fengqiu thereby destroying the Xia dynasty and paving the way for China's second feudal dynasty, the Shang with its capital at Xibo () in the Zhengzhou area.