Kaifeng Travel Guide

Basic information Area code: 0378 Emergency phone: 110, 119, 120 Destination overview Destination sketch Kaifeng is a time-honored city on the yellow river and used to be the national capital of northern Song Dynasty, and it was called Bianzhou,Bianliang and […]

Basic information

Area code: 0378
Emergency phone: 110, 119, 120

Destination overview

Destination sketch

Kaifeng is a time-honored city on the yellow river and used to be the national capital of northern Song Dynasty, and it was called Bianzhou,Bianliang and Bianjing as well. Kaifeng is one of top-seven ancient capitals and one of 24 famous cities issued officially by State Council for their history and culture. It has more than 2700 years old since it was established as a city.

Best Travel season

The best time to visit is suggested to be September and October due to the most pleasant weather and the city’s most beautiful event: the Chrysanthemum Fair.

Intercity traffic

Aircraft

From Kaifeng to Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport, about 70 kilometers, the journey takes 55-75 minutes. From Kaifeng to Xinzheng Airport, you must first take the bus from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng to Zhengzhou, and take the airport bus at Zhengzhou Civil Aviation Hotel to the airport; you can also choose a taxi. The one-way fare is about RMB 150.

Train

Kaifeng Station
Address: South Section of Zhongshan Road, Kaifeng City
Tel: 0378-2572222

Long-distance bus

Kaifeng Shiguosi Long-distance Bus Station
Address: No. 133, Zhongshan Road, Longting District, Kaifeng City
Tel: 0378-5972309

Kaifeng West Bus Station
Address: No.7 Yingbin Road, Yuwangtai District, Kaifeng City
Tel: 0378-3931487

Traffic in the city

Bus

Kaifeng itself is not big, and the attractions are all concentrated in the old city, so taking a bus or walking is the best choice for visiting Kaifeng. The buses in Kaifeng are all unlicensed vehicles, and they will be on the train for 1 yuan. Bus No. 20 is a tourist line and can reach most of the attractions in Kaifeng.

Taxis

In Kaifeng’s taxi, the starting price is RMB 5 (including 3 km), and the fee per kilometer is RMB 1 afterwards. The taxi fare between the attractions in the city does not exceed RMB 7.

Attractions

Millennium City Park

Located in the northwest of Kaifeng, the west shore of the pretty Longting Lake, Millennium City Park is a large-scale historical cultural theme park in accordance with the proportion of one-to-one with the master piece Riverside Scenes at Qingming Festival, a Chinese Art treasure painted by Zhang Zeduan, a famous artist of Northern Song Dynasty.
Founded in 1992 and opened to the public in 1998, the 5A national park covers 40 hectares (which counts in 12 hectares water area and over 3 hectares building area) and has over 50 ancient decorated boats and more than 400 buildings in Song style. The original drawing, Millennium City Park is magnificently reproduce the flourishing scenes of Kaifeng in Song Dynasty, which is also a lively life show for social custom, social life, building structure and landscapes of that time. Walking in the park, visitors can get feelings That they have returned to 1000 years ago- lines of ancient shops and hotels, kinds of Song style mansion and houses, various shows of ancient custom and activities, classical music of Song style, and more than 1000 staffs wearing ancient costumes and walking up and Down or holding kinds of folktales of Song Dynasty. And the imperial life of the same period is also close at hand with grand imperial garden beside the Bian River, and majestic imperial hall s led by bluestone passages.
Address: No. 5, Longting West Road, Longting District, Kaifeng City
Arrival method: Take Bus No. 1, 15 and 20, 20 East Line, 30 etc. Bus can be reached
Opening hours: 9:00-22:00
Tickets: 100 yuan, student holds a student ID card 50% discount

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 Road that resemble the arched gates in Xi’an. The other gates are merely gaps in the Wall.

Memorial Temple of Lord Bao

Lord Bao was an exemplary official during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). He fought courageously and unyieldingly against corrupt officials and protected ordinary people from being exploited. He really made a great contribution to his people, so the people in Kaifeng established the Memorial Temple of Lord Bao to commemorate him and his good deeds.
The ruins of the original temple was flooded by the Yellow River. The current Memorial Temple of Lord Bao is situated on the west bank of a beautiful lake named Lord Bao Lake. Reconstructed on its original site, it is designed in the architectural style and colored patterns Of the Northern Song Dynasty. The temple includes Dadian Palace, Erdian Palace, and some other buildings.
Address: Kaifeng City, Kaifeng City, southwest of Baogong Lake
Arrival method: Take bus No. 8, 10, 16, 24, 30 in the city and the 20-route tourist line can be reached
Opening hours: 7:00-19:00
Tickets: 30 yuan, students with student ID cards

Kaifeng Prefecture

Covering an area of about 9.9 acres, with a floor space of about 3.5 acres, Kaifeng Prefecture Scenic Areas was built on the basis of a canon Building Standard, or Yingzao Fashi finalized in Song Dynasty. Magnificent and imposing architecture in Kaifeng Fu such as Main Hall (Court of Law), Conference Hall, and Meihua Hall (Hall of Plum Blossom) are sited on the centre axis, with 50 plus palaces in the prefecture. According to different themes, Kaifengfu can be divided into ten scenic areas, in which a mix of tranquility and energy can be perceived and valuable documents are displayed. Apart from that, intriguing performances are a must see. In this way can visitors better understand the culture of the Northern Song Dynasty.
Address: North shore of the east of Baogong Lake, Kaifeng City
Arrival method: Take bus lines 1, 9, 16, 20 West Line 20, 20 East Line, and 23, 32. Get off at Yanqing Temple and walk for about 5 minutes. Take Bus No. 4, 19 and get off at Kaifeng
Opening hours: 7:30-18:00
Tickets: 60 yuan, students with student ID cards, children under 1.4 meters free, free interpretation in the government
Tel: 0378-3963159

Yanqing Taoist Temple

It appears to be closed for restoration at last visit. A small temple containing a two-story pagoda with a beautiful blue glazed tile balcony and painted carvings on the front gate.
Address: 53 Guanqian Street, Gulou District, Kaifeng City (Northwest of Kaifeng Prefecture)
Arrival method: You can arrive by bus No. 1, 9 and 20
Tickets: 30 yuan

Dragon Pavilion

Dragon Pavilion was built in 780AD, the park and palace had been through five dynasties, the palace has changed somewhat with change due to different emperors living there over thousands of years. The palace, and the surrounding sights became a park in 1925. Originally name Zhongshan Park, and was later officially renamed Longting Park in 1935. The park covers an area of 1038 acres; the park is surrounded by three sides by water, and absolutely stunning sights.
The Park holds a chrysanthemum festival every year, when autumn comes around. This festival has taken place since the early Song Dynasty, and spread through the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. The area is rich with history And culture. Every year when autumn arrives the parks 1,000 types of chrysanthemums open, the scenery of the flowers opening attracts visitors from both near and far.
Address: Longting South Road, Kaifeng City
Arrival method: Take Bus No. 1, 15 and 20, 20 East Line, 30 etc. Bus can be reached
Opening hours: 8:00-18:30 in summer; 8:00-18:00 in spring and autumn; Tickets: 50 yuan, student holds student ticket
Tel: 0378-5660316

Kaifeng Museum

Laying south of the Baogong Lake, Kaifeng Museum occupies an area of ​​16,000 square meters in a layout of the Chinese character “山a(山)” with pseudo-classic architecture. As a museum of social society and arts, the museum has collected more than 80,000 cultural objects and nearly 50,000 professional books since its establishment. Of all the collections including potteries, porcelains, bronze wares, paintings, carvings, stone inscriptions, ancient currency, jade articles, lacquer wares, costume, etc, ten are considered as “first Grade cultural relics” and over 1000 “second grade cultural relics”, several of which are unique in China even in the world.
Address: No. 26, Yingbin Road, Gulou District, Kaifeng City
Arrival method: Take the buses 1, 4, 7, 9, 16, 19, 20 East, 20 West, 23, 35 and get off at the museum station.
Opening hours: Summer 9:00-12:00, 14:30-17:30, Winter 9:00-12:00,
14:00-17:00; Closed on Monday
Tickets: Free to visit. Hold a ticket at the entrance to the museum with a valid certificate, limit the number of visitors to 1,000 each in the afternoon
Tel: 0378-3932178-8012, 8019

Daxiangguo Temple

The temple 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 Tathagata Hall (Daxiongbaodian) is where monks perform daily chanting Rituals in front of three huge Buddhas. 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 Buddhas is a Goddess of Mercy standing on a dragon’s 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 approaching to to The roof. The hall houses a breathtakingly beautiful four-sided golden Avalokitesavara She said to have carved a single tree over 50 years. The lower a white Burmese jade Buddha in the Burmese style and a glass replica of the Emerald Buddha in Thailand’s Grand Palace. Unfortunately, all halls have a No Photo policy which is rarely adhered to even by local tourists, and rarely enforced by the attending monks .
Address: No. 36, West Section of Freedom Road, Gulou District, Kaifeng City
Arrival method: Take Bus Nos. 2, 5, 16, 19, 20 East, Bus Nos. 23, 29, and 32 and get off at the Shiguni-ji Temple (Post Office) Station.
Opening hours: 8:00-18:30
Tickets: 45 yuan, 50% discount for student ID cards

Iron Pagoda

It got its name in the 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 for ¥30 (not for the claustrophobic, no viewing platform, just a dead end at the top, but several windows along the way and interesting bricks to look at). There is a Buddhist temple located near the pagoda and a small lake.
Address: 210 North Gate Street, Kaifeng City
Arrival method: Take the bus No.1, No.3 and No.20 and you can get a direct ticket: RMB 60, and the student has a 50% discount on student ID.

Po Pagoda

Tourists seldom visit. It can be climbed if the internal stairway’s gate is unlocked that day
Address: No. 38, Fanta East Street, Kaifeng City
Arrival method: Take bus No.12 and No.15 to arrive at the entrance fee: 30 yuan, student holds a student ID card 50% discount.

Food

The cooking culture of Kaifeng may well be rich and colorful, there is sediment of the cooking culture of Jin and Yuan dynasty through the ages, there are wild games of local characteristic delicacy from mountain too, there are results from modern plural cultural exchanges, these form Kaifeng unique food and beverage culture, i.e. Kaifeng flavor, its characteristic can summarize as “dialyse, produce beautiful in being sincere, hit the quintessence of containing roughly”. Futai floor, Beilaishun, Western food restaurant of Huamei, Jiang NanChun, Sigma restaurant, Fucheng beef in hot pots hot pot city, one dumpling hall, eastern dumpling king, Wu ji sauced bone stew restaurant ,etc. the famous special restaurant of Kaifeng always.

Accommodation

There are many choices for accommodation in Kaifeng City.

Shopping

Bian embroidery, Bianliang Watermelon, Pickled Radish, Spiced Dried Bean Curd, Peanut Cake