'''Kaifeng''' (?__; ''K?if?ng'') is a city located on the southern bank of the Yellow River in northern Henan province.

Understand

The city was the capital of China during several dynasties, and was visited by Marco Polo.Before around 1,000 years,when it was the capital of Song dynasty, Kaifeng was the most prosperous and busy city in China, even in the world. Countless expats immigrated right here and lived their whole lives, especially the arabian muslims and persians, who afterwards formed a totally new ethnic group in China, named Hui(____).Also, the jews settled down in Kaifeng, carried on their generations, and became a part of Chinese ethnic under the patronage of the contemporary emperor.Nowadays, one of the 17 big jewish families still remains in Bible Hutong(Jiaojing Hutong, __?____ in Chinese), visited and [reported] by lots of jewish individuals and groups from israel.The local Henan University is also an important acadamy on Chinese jews issues.

Get in

Kaifeng is on the Shanghai-Xian line so many trains pass through to/from ZhengZhou. Hard seat tickets may be difficult to obtain but next day (or even same day) hard-sleeper tickets (To/From Shanghai, 12 hrs, \216) are readily available outside peak periods.

The nearest airport, though, is in Zhengzhou an hour away and a \160 taxi ride, except if you happen to be in the PRC military, who apparently have one closer to town.

If you wanna pay less instead of taking taxi from the Xinzheng Aiprport(FTAT Code:CGO), take the shuttle bus just outside the arrival gate with RMB15 from airport to Minhang Hotel(Civil Aviation Hotel, ___q_____X in Chinese_jin Jinshui Road, then go along the street to east for around 20 minutes, you will find a mini bus station named Deyi Bus Station(__?_D?___jon your right hand side(Ask any one around you to identify the location for it's really a little bit far, so you may be confused that whether you are on the right way).That is where one of the Zheng(Zhengzhou)-Kai(Kaifeng) inter-city bus stations sits. RMB 7 is the price of the single way ticket price. And your destination will be near Kaifeng Railway Staion.

Get around

One very good way to get around kaifeng and see the sites is to take a rickshaw. one ricksha driver in particular,Jason aka "Golden phoenix" caters to foreigners and does an exceptional job as a guide.His English is remarkbly good.He is knowlegable about kaifeng.

See

  • XiangGuo Monastery. emple of the Chief Minister. iyou Lu. 30. This monastery was first built AD555 during the Qi Dynasty with new buildings added in 1661 and 1766. The entire complex has 64 temples but the three main halls are of the greatest interest. The large rectangular _eTathagata Hall_f (Da Xiong Bao Dian) is where monks perform daily chanting rituals in front of three huge Buddha_fs. In the middle is an impressive bronze Sakyamuni, left is Amitabha and right is the Medicine Buddha, each with a silk hood surrounding their head. At the back of the three Buddha_fs is a Goddess of Mercy standing on a dragon_fs head and flanked by a various golden figures. Rising behind them to the roof are a multitude of heavenly figures supported on clouds. Along the side are sculptures of some peculiar looking Arhats; look for the one with an abnormally long arm reaching almost to the roof. The octagonal _eArhat Hall_f (Lou Han Dian) is beautifully constructed with upturned eaves and painted roof beams. The hall houses a four-sided golden Avalokitesavara said to be carved from a single tree. She has six main arms, one set holding aloft a Buddha and 1000 other arms radiating outward with an eye in each palm. The rear _eTripitaka Hall_f has two floors, the upper holding sutras and the lower a white Burmese jade Buddha in the Burmese style and a glass replica of the Emerald Buddha in Thailand_fs Grand Palace. Unfortunately, all halls have a _eNo Photo_f policy.
  • YanQing Taoist Temple. estern end of Dazhifang Jie. 15. A small temple containing a two-story pagoda with a beautiful blue glazed tile balcony and painted carvings on the front gate. It appeared to be closed for restoration at last visit. (02/09)
  • Shudian Jie. ookstore Street. Running north from Gulou Square this busy street is lined with a mix of old wooden and newer concrete buildings in various styles. Originally called _eBig store Street_f in the Ming Dynasty it was renamed _eBookstore Street_f in the Qing Dynasty when it became the center for shops selling books, paper and pens. Carved doors, shuttered windows and painted roof beams peek out from between oversized billboards but there is still plenty of facade remaining visible to give a feeling of the old street.
  • Dragon Pavilion. orthern end of ZhongShan Lu. 35. The area around Dragon Pavilion was the site if the Ming dynasty palace of Prince Zhou. At the southern end of the street leading to Dragon Pavilion stands a reconstructed Wu gate. The remainder of the street is lined with many old buildings. In the late Ming period the palace was destroyed by floods, leaving only the foundations buried 5m under modern Kaifeng, however the city walls were later built along the same axis. A long bridge divides Yangjia Lake leading to the pavilion itself. Much the same views of the pavilion and lake can be seen by walking around the right side of the lake (without buying a ticket) as from inside the park.
  • Iron Pagoda. ext to North Gate on Jiefeng Lu. 20. Built in 1049 the 13 story octagonal pagoda is said to be the _emost famous pagoda in China_f. It got its name in Yuan Dynasty due the brown glazed tile covering its exterior giving the appearance of iron. It is still in good condition and can be climbed using the internal stairs. There is a Buddhist temple located near the Pagoda.
  • The city wall. Surrounding the city is the old city walls punctuated at various points with gates. Of most interest are the North gate and Little South gate on either end of Jiefeng Lu that resemble the arched gates in Xian. The other gates are merely gaps in the wall.
  • BanJiang Park. ext to Xinkai Gate. 10. Just outside the city walls at XinKai Gate, a large statue of a heroic looking Mao fronts this unremarkable park. Inside are various gardens, statues and a rusting ferris wheel.
  • Kaifeng Fu Jian Jie. aifeng tourist theme park. 50. Set on the edge of Baogong Lake this new construction is supposed to be a recreation of old Kaifeng and is of little interest unless you are into hourly parades of people dressed up like Song dynasty officials.

    Do

    Take a walk along the inside of the wall between Xinkai Gate and Song Gate to see houses made from bricks scavenged from the wall.

    On the West Gate there is a cooking museum.

    Come for the Chrysanthemum Festival each Autumn.

    Go to the Yellow River, besides taxis, there is a city bus which leaves from near the Iron Pagoda park.

    Buy

    [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Along_the_River_During_the_Qingming_Festival Along the River During the Qingming Festival]:(Qingming Shanghe Tu,or in Chinese________?_jAn extrodinary Chinese traditional painting master piece was created almost 1,000 years ago to describe the very city of Kaifeng, which was the capital of China's Song Dynasty. If you could see how long the queue was when it was exhibited in Hong Kong SAR 2007 with a shipping cost of million Hong Kong dollars and tens of millions HKD of insurance fee, could you still hold your step to have a look at it? The pity is it's not been in Kaifeng any longer since the collapse of Song Dynasty. Go to Beijing Forbidden City,where it is lying, perhaps that's the only way, 'coz nobody has the idea when its next moving could happen.And now, you could get a souvenir of this painting scroll which is printed at 1:1 in size to the original one. Of couse 1:2,1:3,1:10_c_ccould also be found easily in the souvenir shops around any places of interest,measure the size of your bags at first.

    Eat

    speciality of Kaifeng are the so called "Bao Zi". The famous place to get them in best quality is the "Di Yi Lou" Restaurant in Kaifeng. These Bao Zi contains soup. Be careful then eating them !

    Due to an important presence of Moslems in the town, you can also find a lot of Islamic dishes (Halal).

    In the center of the city, there is a night market(Gulou Square or Gulou Guangchang) with a wonderful selection of foods.

    Do find a place named Simen(_l?_X in Chinese), the muttun soup is just perfect boiled by the local muslims, and it was always my only breakfast during the winter when I was a student of the the middle school not far away from it.

    You will also fine a lot of snack stands around, which include Sandao(made of flour, bee honey, sugar and stuff),peanut cake,sesame cake etc.

    Hula soup is also the main choice of breakfast for the local, and the food stands are almost everywhere.And my favorite is in a place named Nanyangshi(___r_s_j_Coppositing No.7 Middle School.They only serve in the morning time should it be sunny.

    Well.... this food might make you guys feel weird, but it is highly recommended.Go to No.3 Chemical Factory (___O for short in Chinese_j,there is a donkey meat soup shop. Buy it, sit there,close your eyes if you really doubt its taste, and eat!don't worry, the bosses of soup shop and chemical factory don't know each other.

    Drink

    Taiwan style milk tea stands in Bookstore Street (Shudian Jie)

    Sleep

    Budget

  • Dajintai Binguan. ulou Jie. orm \60 with free breakfast. Located in the large gray-brick building with red lanterns hanging along the front. Friendly English speaking staff and comfortable rooms make it the ideal budget place. Rooms look a bit run down but are clean and the central heating is very welcome in the winter. The attached _ebusiness center_f is very useful for photocopying (\0.5 per page) and email (\3 p/hour)

  • Jin Xue Hotel. tandard \80-\98. A few doors south of the PSB on ZhongShan Lu. This new hotel is no-frills, but comfortable.

  • Bai Yun Hotel. 01 South Zhongshan Road. 378-5968568. Jason "The Rickshaw man" negotiated 100RMB for me. Located in the center of the city. Walking distance to the night market.

    Mid range

    Get out

    Small town with mainly Karaoke Bar and restaurant to hang out. You can get a taxi ride to the "Huang He" (Yellow River) which is quite near from Kaifeng.

    By Train or Bus, the Bus station is across the street from the Train Station.

    Contact