Live shows
Video 2:02Millennium City Park
清明上河园A Song-dynasty painting rebuilt as a living town
4.55 h|¥120
Kaifeng开封
The Song capital that invented the night market and never stopped eating late.
Suggested stay
2 days
Editorial guides
1
Arrive at
Kaifeng North railway
Best season
Mar–May, Sep–Nov
Three reasons to get off the train
- 01
Heritage
Imperial capitals, grottoes and excavated cities
- 02
Folk life
Temple fairs, kiln lanes and living craft
- 03
Food streets
Night markets and breakfast streets
- 04
Bring these together
Millennium City Park
What to see in Kaifeng
1 editorial guidesWhat happened here
c. 190 CEPeopleQin & Han
Cai Wenji returns with the music
Taken north in the wars, she came back years later and wrote down the scores her father had collected.
960 CESong
Kaifeng becomes the Song capital
A canal city without mountains became the largest urban centre on earth, with night markets and a print trade.
1050sPeopleSong
Bao Zheng rules the capital
A stern official who opened the court's gates to petitioners; the opera face and the stories came later.
1127 CESong
The fall of Kaifeng
The northern Song court, its emperor and much of its art were taken north; the dynasty continued south of the Yangtze.
What to eat in Kaifeng
Soup Dumplings
灌汤包Thin-skinned, filled with broth: lift by the topknot or lose the soup.
Drum Tower night market
Drum Tower Night Market
鼓楼夜市Hundreds of stalls after dusk: skewers, almond tea, fried bean-curd skin.
Drum Tower square
“Cheesy in the best way: boatmen, street vendors, a night show on water. Kids and adults both buy in.”
Millennium City Park
Arrive, then move slowly
- Gateway
- Kaifeng North railway
- Rail access
- Direct high-speed rail
- Time needed
- 2 days · 5 h of site time
Rail times below are planning estimates, not timetable data. Confirm departures before booking.
Nearby by rail
| City | Distance | Est. rail |
|---|---|---|
| Zhongmu 中牟 | 31 km | 0h 42m |
| Lankao 兰考 | 47 km | 0h 47m |
| Changyuan 长垣 | 56 km | 0h 50m |
| Zhengzhou 郑州 | 63 km | 0h 52m |