Kaifeng Travel Tips

Kaifeng, one of the ancient capitals with a long history and once the capital of Henan. After years of devastation and chronological changes, it still stands in many ancient cities in China. The building here, or modeled after the ancient building, is still impressive, as if it is deep inside, just like watching more costume dramas, fantasizing itself in a flourishing dynasty, in front of its own admiration. Professionals or distinguished dignitaries, who are doing great things and accomplishing great things. Get to know the following important Kaifeng travel tips before you plan a Kaifeng tour.

Best Time to Visit Kaifeng
Spring and autumn are the best seasons to visit Kaifeng since it has the most comfortable temperature. Kaifeng city belongs to warm temperate continental monsoon climate. It has moderate rainfall, sufficient sunlight and distinct four seasons with a 14? annual average temperature. The city is additionally enjoying a proud wood-cover rate which is higher than the national average level.


Best Things to Do in Kaifeng

Iron Pagoda
The pagoda is located in the northeastern corner of Kaifeng. The predecessor of the Iron Pagoda was a huge octagonal, thirteen-storeyed wooden pagoda called Lingwei. It was once very famous, but for a very short time. In 1044 during the Northern Song Dynasty the wooden pagoda was struck by lightning and burnt down. Actually it is not made of iron, but of red, brown, blue and green glazed bricks. As the main hue is reddish brown, the pagoda looks like iron from afar and has thus been called the Iron Pagoda for hundreds of years.

Dragon Pavilion Park
Located at the northern end of Zhongshan Road in Kaifeng City, it is a group of ancient buildings built according to the layout of Qing Wanshou Palace. It used to be the seat of the imperial city of the Northern Song Dynasty. You can see the scenery of the ancient city of Kaifeng in front of the stone fence. You can watch the cultural relics displayed in the hall when you enter the hall. It is a famous chrysanthemum viewing spot at home and abroad. The Chrysanthemum Festival is held every year in the golden autumn season. At that time, the park is magnificent and thousands of chrysanthemums are fighting here.

Festival of Pure Brightness on the River Park
A large-scale Song Dynasty cultural real theme park built on the basis of the famous Song Dynasty Qingming River Picture based on the Song Dynasty. Highly restored Qingming Shanghetu scenery, consisting of eight functional areas and four cultural areas. Nanyuan recreates the city of Tokyo in the Northern Song Dynasty, and Beiyuan expresses the royal garden and court entertainment of the Song Dynasty. The palace landscape architecture in the garden is brilliant. The staff in the park are all dressed in Song Dynasty costumes, as if traveling through time and space, in addition to wonderful scene performances and folk performances.

Kaifeng Museum
The Kaifeng Museum is an important regional museum of Chinese history, culture, archaeology and art. Its exhibits focus primarily on the Song Dynasty, of which Kaifeng was the capital city, from 960-1279 AD. It was during this period that Jews became established in Kaifeng. The museum is a "mountain" shaped antique building, with sing eaves Xieshan-style roof and covered with yellow glazed tile, and is magnificent. The collections are rich in quality and exquisite in detail, and enjoy a great reputation in the whole province and even in the whole country.

Daxianggu Temple
Formerly known as Jianguo Temple, was first built in the Northern Qi Dynasty. It was a royal temple in the Northern Song Dynasty and the place where Lu Zhishen pulled out a willow tree with his bare hands in the classic Ming dynasty novel, "The Water Margin." Most of the buildings in Daxiangguo Temple today were rebuilt in recent years and the scale is much smaller than that of the original. Thousand-armed and Thousand-eyed Avalokiteshvara in the courtyard is a cultural relic of the Qianlong period from the Qing dynasty. There is also a bronze bell made in 1768, which is worth seeing.


Kaifeng Food Culture

Kaifeng is the place to get better acquainted with Chinese snack and street food. The food in Kaifeng is called Henan Cuisein or Yu Cuisine, the Shaolin Vegetarian Food is one specialty standing out among the varieties of Henan cuisine. Some famous dishes and snacks include Peony and Swallow Vegetable, Fried Purple Crisp Pork, Lightly Fried Bean Curd, Jadeite Shredded Fish, Scallion Stewed Sea Cucumber, Fruit Juice and Shrimps, Stuffed Bun Steamed in Small Bamboo Utensils, Sweet and Pleasant Buns, Egg Cakes (which are crisp outside and tender inside), Steamed Ravioli, Hand-stretched Noodles and Braised Cakes.


Accommodation in Kaifeng
When you come to Kaifeng for a tour, you can consider to stay in the old town area of Kaifeng since most of scenic spots are located near the old town. It is also close to the train station & bus station, you can the high-speed rail to Kaifeng. After getting off the bus, you can buy a 10-Yuan card at the tourist passenger transportation center. The car passes through the major scenic spots in Kaifeng City. It is very convenient to exchange Chengdu back and forth within one day without charge.


Shopping in Kaifeng
There are many good places for shopping in Kaifeng, such as Shidun Street Market with a great varity of products for sale including clothes, cosmetics and kitchenware; Daxiangguo Temple Market, just outside Daxiangguo Temple and it is the largest market in town, offering clothes, electronics and much other; Song Street is a good place for the souvenirs; If you want to find some antiques, you can go to the Kaifeng City Antiques Store. Embroidery, Fighting Kites and Spiced Bean Curd are the Kaifeng local products.


Safety
Keep personal valuables (cash, passport, mobile phone, camera) at all times. Get to know some local folk customs and geographic maps from the Internet or books before traveling. You can buy a local Kaifeng tourist map to avoid getting lost when traveling.