
Kaifeng
Kaifeng is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China.
It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history.
Getting to Kaifeng
The nearest airport is in Zhengzhou Xinzheng Airport (FTAT Code:CGO), an hour away and ¥160 by taxi or ¥30 by high-speed train (see below). An alternative way from the airport to Kaifeng is to take a shuttle bus from just outside the arrival gate to Civil Aviation Hotel (民航大酒店) in Jinshui Road (¥15), then walk east for around 20 minutes to the mini bus station Deyi Bus Station (德亿汽车站) from where you can take a bus…
- 01Kaifeng Station
Hard seat tickets may be difficult to obtain but next day (or even same day) hard-sleeper tickets (from Shanghai, 6½ hours, ¥222; from Xi'an, 7 hours, ¥140) are readily available outside peak periods.
- 02Songcheng Lu Station
Kaifeng has a dedicated high speed rail connection to Zhengzhou East (30 minutes), continuing to Xinzheng Airport, running about every 90 minutes.
- 03Kaifeng North Station
Long-distance high speed trains on the Lanzhou-Xuzhou high-speed rail line call at Kaifeng North.
- 04Kaifeng Central Bus Station
The main bus terminal is near Kaifeng Station.
Worth seeing
- 01Daxiangguo Temple
Temple of the Chief Minister), Ziyou Road (Bus 9 or 20),.
- 02Shudian Jie
Running north from Gulou Square this busy street is lined with a mix of old wooden and newer concrete buildings in various styles.
- 03Dragon Pavilion
The area around Dragon Pavilion was the site if the Ming dynasty palace of Prince Zhou.
- 04Iron Pagoda
Built in 1049 the 13-storey octagonal pagoda is said to be the most famous pagoda in China.
- 05Po Pagoda
- 06Baogong Memorial Temple
Things to do
Walk inside the wall. 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. Yellow River (黄河) (besides taxis, there is a city bus which leaves from near the Northern entrance to Iron Pagoda park (Bus 6)).
- 01Wansui Mountain Martial Arts City
Where to eat
You will find a lot of snack stands around, which include Sandao (made of flour, bee honey, sugar and stuff), peanut cake, sesame cake etc. There are also many other cheap options. Night Market, Gulou Square (Gulou Guangchang) (in the center of the city). Wonderful selection of foods. Simen (四门儿). This is one of the many Muslim restaurants in the city.
Getting around Kaifeng the local way
- Get aroundOne very good way to get around Kaifeng and see the sites is to take what the locals call "bengbeng"; essentially a tuktuk or motorised rickshaw.
From Wikivoyage: Kaifeng, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-02.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.