Hebi is a small industrial city in northern Henan that most travellers pass through without stopping, which is a mild shame because it sits on top of one of the more unusual concentrations of ancient history in the province. The city's name means "cranes perch on the cliff of the southern mountain," a reference to Duke Yi of the State of Wei, who was so besotted with cranes that he gave them official court titles and took them on military campaigns — which did not end well for him or his kingdom, but made for a good story. The broader area around modern Hebi, then known as Chaoge, served as the capital of the late Shang dynasty and later of the Zhou-period State of Wei.
Chaoge is also remembered as the place where the last Shang king, Zhòu Xīn, built his infamous Deer Terrace — a vast pleasure palace from which, according to tradition, he surveyed his kingdom in increasingly dissolute fashion before the Zhou conquest ended the dynasty around 1046 BCE. The terrace is long gone, but the Shang cultural layer runs deep here, and local archaeological museums in Qi County hold finds from that period. The Chaoge historical sites in nearby Qi County preserve finds from this period in local museums. The city is also one of the claimed birthplaces of several major Chinese surnames, including Lin, which traces its origin to the official Bigan whose story is also commemorated in nearby Weihui.
Dapi Mountain on the city's southern edge provides the best views of the surrounding country and is the local weekend hiking destination. The mountain is not dramatic by Taihang standards, but the views on a clear day extend across the Yellow River plain, and the trails are well-maintained. The city's food speciality is Zimo — a flatbread stuffed with seasoned meat and egg, then baked over coals in a technique that's been unchanged for generations and produces something considerably more interesting than it sounds on paper.
Hebi sits on the Beijing–Guangzhou railway with stops at both Hebi Station and Hebidong Station, making it easy to include as a short stop between Anyang and Xinxiang. It's not a destination in itself, but travellers with a deep interest in Shang dynasty history and a tolerance for unexpectedly industrial settings will find more here than the city's modest reputation suggests.