Kaifeng

Overview

About

Kaifeng lies in eastern Henan, on the south bank of the Yellow River. Known in the past as Daliang, Bianzhou and Bianliang, it was called Dongjing (the Eastern Capital) under the Northern Song. It is one of China’s Eight Great Ancient Capitals and one of the first National Famous Historical and Cultural Cities. The state of Wei made it its capital, Daliang, in the Warring States period; later the Later Liang, Later Jin, Later Han and Later Zhou of the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song all ruled from here, the Northern Song above all.

Under the Northern Song, Dongjing was among the most prosperous cities in the world, with more than a million people. Shops were no longer shut inside walled market wards but opened along the streets, and night markets ran until dawn. Zhang Zeduan’s scroll <i>Along the River During the Qingming Festival</i> is generally thought to show the street life of this city.

The Yellow River broke its banks again and again, burying Kaifeng under silt each time; beneath the present city lie, one above another, Wei’s Daliang, Tang Bianzhou, Song Dongjing, the Jin capital, and Ming and Qing Kaifeng, so it is called a “city stacked on cities”. The present wall was mostly rebuilt under the Qing and is one of the more complete old city walls in China.

Most of the old sites are linked to the Northern Song. The Iron Pagoda, the Youguo Temple pagoda of the Northern Song, is faced with brown glazed bricks that from a distance look like iron; the Po Pagoda (Fanta), built early in the Northern Song, is one of the oldest buildings in Kaifeng. Daxiangguo Temple was the imperial temple of the Northern Song; in <i>Water Margin</i>, Lu Zhishen pulls up a willow tree by its roots here. The Dragon Pavilion area was the site of the Northern Song palace, the Ming palace of the Prince of Zhou and the Qing Wanshou Palace. The city also has the Lord Bao Temple and the Shanxi–Shaanxi–Gansu Guild Hall. Qingming Riverside Park is a reconstruction based on the Qingming scroll.

Travel tips

Getting there: intercity and high-speed trains link Zhengzhou and Kaifeng in about half an hour.

Sightseeing: the old city is small; the Iron Pagoda, Dragon Pavilion, Daxiangguo Temple and Lord Bao Temple are all inside the walls and can be seen in a day or two. The night market around the Drum Tower is known for soup dumplings and other snacks.