Kaifeng
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Central China (华中) » Henan (河南) » Kaifeng (开封)
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[edit] Overview
Kaifeng is a prefecture-level city in eastern Henan province, People's Republic of China. Located along the southern bank of the Yellow River, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the west, Xinxiang to the northwest, Shangqiu to the east, Zhoukou to the southeast, Xuchang to the southwest, and the province of Shandong to the northeast.--from wikipedia.org
[edit] History
Kaifeng is one of the Seven Ancient Capitals of China.
In 364 BC, the state of Wei during the Warring States Period founded a city called Daliang as its capital in this area. During this period, the first of many canals in the area was constructed; it linked a local river to the Huang He. When the State of Wei was conquered by the Qin, Kaifeng was destroyed and abandoned except for a mid-sized market town, which remained in its place.
Early in the 7th century, Kaifeng was transformed into a major commercial hub when it was connected to the Grand Canal as well as a canal running to western Shandong Province.
In 781 (Tang Dynasty), a new city was reconstructed and named Bian (汴). Bian was the capital of the Later Jin (936-946), Later Han (947-950), and Later Zhou (951-960) of the Five Dynasties Period. The Song Dynasty made Bian its capital when it overthrew the Later Zhou in 960, and shortly afterward, they further expanded the city.
During the Song Dynasty, called Dongjing or Bianjing then, Kaifeng was the capital with a population of over 400,000, living both inside and outside the city wall. Typhus was an acute problem of the city.
In 1049, Youguosi Pagoda (佑國寺塔), or Iron Pagoda (鐵塔) as it is called today, was constructed, which measures 54.7 m in height. It has survived the destruction of wars and floodings and become the oldest landmark in this ancient city. Another Song Dynasty pagoda, Bo Ta (繁塔), from 974, has been partially destroyed. The famous painting Qingming Scroll is believed by some to portray daily life in Kaifeng. The painting, of which several versions are extant (the above is an 18th century remake), is attributed to the Song Dynasty (960-1279) artist Zhang Zeduan.
Another well-known sight was the astronomical clock tower of the engineer, scientist, and statesman Su Song (1020-1101 AD). It was crowned with a rotating armillary sphere that was hydraulic-powered (i.e. by waterwheel and clepsydra clock), yet it incorporated an escapement mechanism two hundred years before they were found in clockworks of Europe, and featured the first known endless power-transmitting chain drive.
Kaifeng reached its peak of importance in the 11th century, when it was a commercial and industrial center at the intersection of four major canals. During this time, the city was surrounded by three rings of city walls and probably had a population of 600,000 to 700,000.
It is believed that Kaifeng was the largest city in the world from 1013 to 1127. [1]
This period ended in 1127, when the city fell to Jurchen invaders (see Jingkang Incident) and came subsequently under the rule of the Jin Dynasty. While it remained an important administrative center, only the city area inside the inner city wall of the early Song Dynasty remained settled and the two outer rings were abandoned.
One major problem associated with Kaifeng as the Imperial capital of the Song Dynasty was its location. While it was conveniently situated along the Grand Canal for logistic supply, Kaifeng was militarily vulnerable due to its position on the flood plains of the Yellow River. Games in the Jinming Pool, a late 11th or early 12th century painting depicting Kaifeng, by Zhang Zerui.
Kaifeng served as the Jurchen's "southern capital" from 1157 (other sources say 1161) and was reconstructed during this time.[2][3] But they kept their main capital further north, until 1214, when they were forced to move the imperial court southwards to Kaifeng in order to flee the Mongol onslaught. In 1234 they succumbed to combined Mongol and Song Dynasty forces. Mongols took control, and in 1279 they conquered all of China.
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty in 1368, Kaifeng was made the capital of Henan Province.
In 1642, Kaifeng was flooded by the Ming army with water from Yellow River to prevent the peasant rebel Li Zicheng from taking over. After this disaster, the city was abandoned again.
Under the celebrated Qing emperor Kangxi (1662), Kaifeng was rebuilt. However, another flooding occurred in 1841, followed by another reconstruction in 1843, which produced the contemporary Kaifeng as we know it.
Kaifeng is also known for having the oldest extant Jewish community in China, the Kaifeng Jews.
It was here, too, that in 1969, the former Chairman of the People's Republic of China Liu Shaoqi, died in prison from medical neglect. --from wikipedia.org
[edit] Weather
Current Conditions (2010-03-15 14:00:00, local time)
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Kaifeng |
Temp: 62°F (17°C) |
Kaifeng Weather Forecast
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The climate of Kaifeng City belongs to the typical kind, which is cold in winter, warm in spring, hot in summer and cool in fall.
[edit] Map
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[edit] Video
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[edit] Getting in & Getting out
[edit] By Air
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.
[edit] By Train
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.
[edit] By Bus
[edit] By Ship
[edit] Getting Around
[edit] By Public Bus
[edit] By Tour Bus
[edit] By Metro
[edit] By Taxi & Rental Car
[edit] Attractions
There are 213 sights and antiquities in Kaifeng, such as Qingmingshanghe Park, Baogong Temple, Tie Tower, Fan Tower, and Imperial Street of Song Dynasty and so on, which benefits and promotes the tourism development of the city a lot. Overall, the long history and the splendid culture have made the city be famous as the ancient capital of the seven dynasties ever in history, the famous city with great culture, the Old Capital of Song Dynasty, the City of Chrysanthemum etc.
- Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden (清明上河园 )
- Kaifeng Dragon Pavilion Park (开封龙亭公园)
- Daxiangguo Temple (开封大相国寺)
[edit] Hotels
[edit] Budget
carol guest house is newly opened in the center of kaifeng city henan province china,located at da liang men close many sites of tourist attraction such as dragon pavilion park and qingming riverside landscape garden and yu street... one bed is 50 RMB per day. it is very clean and the owner carol speak very good english who can give you any information you ask about travel and also do tickets service. specally when you arrive kaifeng she can go to station to pick you up. the guest house is connected with internet and has bikes to rent.we also do tour guide service. my email is carol_guest_house@hotmail.com my mobile phone is 0086 15937882596
[edit] Mid Range
[edit] Restaurants
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(四门儿 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(南羊市），oppositing 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 (化三 for short in Chinese）,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. --from wikitravel.org
[edit] Shopping
Along the River During the Qingming Festival :(Qingming Shanghe Tu,or in Chinese清明上河图）An 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……could also be found easily in the souvenir shops around any places of interest,measure the size of your bags at first. --from wikitravel.org
[edit] Night Life & Entertainment
[edit] Sports & Recreation
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.
[edit] Excursions & Day Trips
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. --from wikitravel.org
