City guide · 开封 · 北宋称东京
Kaifeng
Eight-dynasty ancient capital of stacked cities: the embers of Northern Song in Bianliang's night markets and chrysanthemum fragrance
Kaifeng lies in eastern Henan, on the south bank of the Yellow River — an ancient capital built on the Yellow River alluvial plain. The legacy of the Northern Song's Dongjing survives in the stacked layers of city upon city, the thousand-year Iron Pagoda, Bao Zheng's integrity and the autumn splendour of chrysanthemums. Longting, the Millennium City Park and Xiaosong City form a Song-style experience belt, while the old streets within the old city wall keep the soul of Henan cuisine and night markets: the smoke of the Gulou night market has not gone out since the night the Northern Song lifted its night-market ban. Kaifeng is not a museum-style ancient capital, but a still-living daily embodiment of the Song idea.
History
How the city came to be
Kaifeng's history spans more than four thousand years, from Lao Qiu of the Xia dynasty to the lands of Zheng and Han in the Spring and Autumn period; in the Warring States, King Hui of Wei moved his capital to Daliang, and Kaifeng first became a royal capital. Afterwards the Later Liang, Later Jin, Later Han, Later Zhou and Northern Song made it their capital in succession — hence "ancient capital of eight dynasties" (counts including Xia and Wei vary; the eight-dynasty version is the common one). Northern Song Dongjing (Kaifeng Prefecture) was the largest and most flourishing city in the world at the time, with over a million people; Zhang Zeduan's Along the River During the Qingming Festival and The Eastern Capital: A Dream of Splendour record its glory. From the Jin and Yuan onward, the Yellow River repeatedly burst its banks and drowned the city; in the Kangxi reign of the Qing, today's Kaifeng was rebuilt on the ruins — beneath "city stacked on city" lie five or six layers of city remains from Song to Qing, a marvel of world urban archaeology.
- Warring StatesIn 364 BC King Hui of Wei moved his capital to Daliang; Kaifeng became a capital for the first time
- Five Dynasties to Northern SongLater Liang, Later Jin, Later Han, Later Zhou and Northern Song in succession made Kaifeng their capital — the bulk of the "eight dynasties"
- 960Zhao Kuangyin's Chenqiao mutiny and the yellow robe: the Northern Song made Dongjing (Kaifeng) its capital
- 1017Bao Zheng served as prefect of Kaifeng, leaving his image as an upright official
- 1140Yue Fei's great victory at Zhuxian Town, then recalled by twelve gold plaques
- 1642At the end of the Ming, the Yellow River burst and Kaifeng sank beneath the water (the account that Li Zicheng breached the dyke also survives)
- Qing, Kangxi eraToday's Kaifeng city walls were rebuilt on the ruins of the Song city
- 2012Kaifeng advanced "city upon city" archaeology, and the excavation of the Zhouqiao Bridge and Bian River site became a national archaeological hotspot
Local life
Food and local daily life
Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden, Kaifeng
Must-try
- Soup dumplings (guantang bao)
- Sweet-and-sour carp with fried noodles
- Tongzi chicken
Soup dumplings (thin skins, lots of soup — a Kaifeng speciality), carp with fried noodles (sweet-and-sour carp with fine noodles), tongzi chicken (savoury braised chicken), mutton kangmo flatbread, almond tea / fried liangfen (night-market snacks)
| Where to eat | The Song-style snack street inside the park, Xisi night market, Drum Tower night market, Diyilou dumpling restaurant |
|---|---|
| Dining etiquette | Some stalls are halal; be mindful |
| Typical price per person | CNY 40–80 |
| Tips | Night markets have the fullest choice once stalls set up in the early evening; with soup dumplings, bite a small hole and sip the soup first to avoid scalding. |
Prices are typical rates as of October 2026, not exact quotes; CNY equivalents are approximate where exchange rates fluctuate.
Windmemories · CC BY-SA 4.0