Things to do in Hénán
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Night market
This veritable marvel and phenomenon alone justifies trips to Kāifēng, especially at weekends. Join the scrums weaving between stalls busy with hollering Hui Muslim chefs cooking up kebabs and náng bread, red-faced popcorn sellers and vendors of shāo bing sesame-seed cakes, cured meats, foul-smelling chòu gānzi (臭干子; dry strips of doufu), sweet potatoes, crab kebabs, sugar-coated pears and Thai scented cakes. Pass on the yāxuě tāng (鸭血汤; duck blood soup) if you insist.
Among the flames jetting from ovens and steam rising in clouds prance the hearty vendors of xìngrén chá (杏仁茶; almond tea). A sugary sauce (the consistency of wallpaper paste) made fr…
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Pó Pagoda
This stumpy pagoda is the oldest Buddhist structure in Kāifēng (from 974). The original was a nine-storey hexagonal building, typical of the Northern Song style. The pagoda is clad in tiles decorated with 108 different Buddha images – note that all the Buddhas on the lower levels have had their faces smashed off. The pagoda is all that survives of Tiānqīng Temple (天清寺; Tiānqīng Sì), but worshippers still flock here to burn incense and pray. The Pó Pagoda Temple Fair is held here in April.
You'll find the pagoda hidden down alleyways east of the train station. Cross southward over the railway tracks from Tielubeiyan Jie and take the first alleyway on your le…
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Kāifēng Synagogue
Sadly, nothing remains of the synagogue except a well with an iron lid in the boiler room of the No 4 People's Hospital. The spirit of it lingers, however, in the name of the brick alley immediately south of the hospital – Jiaojing Hutong (教经胡同; Teaching the Scripture Alley).
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Kāifēng Museum
The highlight of the museum is the two notable Jewish stelae on the 4th floor, managed by the Kāifēng Institute for Research on the History of Chinese Jews, but you will have to pay Y50 to see them. Buses 1, 4, 9 and 23 all travel past here.
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Lóngtíng Park
Site of the former imperial palace, this park is largely covered by lakes, into which hardy swimmers dive in winter. Climb the Dragon Pavilion (龙亭; Lóng Tíng) for town views.
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Temple of the Chief Minister
First founded in AD 555, this frequently rebuilt temple was destroyed along with the city in the early 1640s when rebels breached the Yellow River's dykes. During the Northern Song, the temple covered a massive 34 hectares and housed over 10,000 monks.
Within the Hall of the Heavenly Kings (天王殿; Tiānwáng Diàn), the mission of chubby Milefo (the Laughing Buddha) is proclaimed in the attendant Chinese characters: 'Big belly can endure all that is hard to endure in the world'. But the temple showstopper is the mesmerising Four-Faced Thousand Hand Thousand Eye Guanyin (四面千手千眼观世音), towering within the octagonal Arhat Hall (罗汉殿; Luóhàn Diàn), beyond the …
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City Walls
Kāifēng is ringed by a relatively intact, much-restored Qing-dynasty wall. Encased with grey bricks, rear sections of the ramparts have been recently buttressed very unattractively with concrete. Today's bastion was built on the foundations of the Song-dynasty Inner Wall (内城; Nèichéng). Rising up beyond was the mighty, now buried Outer Wall (外城; Wàichéng), a colossal construction containing 18 gates, which looped south of the Pó Pagoda, while the Imperial Wall (皇城; Huángchéng) protected the imperial palace.
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Shānshǎngān Guild Hall
The elaborately styled guildhall was built as a lodging and meeting place during the Qing dynasty by an association of merchants from Shānxi, Shǎnxi (Shaanxi) and Gānsù provinces. Note the carvings on the roofs, and delve into the exhibition on historic Kāifēng. Check out the fascinating diorama of the old Song city – with its palace in the centre of town – and compare it with a model of modern Kāifēng. There are also some excellent photographs of the city's standout historic monuments, but captions are in Chinese.
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Háoxiǎnglái
Ordering a grilled-meat set will get you a large grilled chop, spaghetti, fried egg, bowl of soup, salad, toast, tea, a desert plus the smallest shot of apéritif imaginable. Kids will love it, there's a handy photo menu and waitresses wheel dim sum and sweet snacks past on carts.
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Riverside Scenic Park Qīngmíng Garden
High on historical kitsch, this theme park recreates Kāifēng in its heyday, complete with cultural performances, folk art and music demonstrations. Within the park, the Jewish Cultural Exhibit Center is a fascinating foray into Kāifēng's Jewish culture.
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Dōngdà Mosque
South is Kāifēng's main Muslim district, whose landmark place of worship is this Chinese temple–styled mosque. Streets here have colourful names, such as Shaoji Hutong (Roast Chicken Alley).
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Old Guanyin Temple
Just northeast of the No 4 People's Hospital is this active and recently rebuilt monastery. The large temple complex includes a notable hall with a twin-eaved umbrella roof, and a sizeable effigy of a recumbent Sakyamuni in its Reclining Buddha Hall (卧佛殿; Wòfó Diàn).
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Jiǎozi Guǎn
This gorgeous three-storey Chinese building has traditional verandas hung with red lanterns, excellent dumplings and great views over the throbbing night market.
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Kaifeng Institute for Research on the History of Chinese Jews
The Kaifeng Institute for Research on the History of Chinese Jews here has detailed information about history of Jewish people in the region.
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Hall of the Three Clear Ones
The Hall of the Three Clear Ones is where a trinity of Taoist deities welcomes worshippers. It is situated at the rear of Yanqing Temple.
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Iron Pagoda Park
Rising up within Iron Pagoda Park is a magnificent 55m, 11th-century pagoda, a gorgeous, slender brick edifice wrapped in glazed rust-coloured tiles (hence the name); it's climbable for Y10. West of the pagoda is the Jiēyǐn Hall (接引殿; Jiēyǐn Diàn), where a bronze statue of Buddha from the Song/Jin era stands. The park hedges up against sections of the city wall.
Take bus 3 from the train station via Jiefang Lu to the route terminus; it's a short walk east to the park's entrance from here.
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Dìyīlóu Bāozi Guǎn
Famed for its bāozi (包子; meat-filled buns), this cavernous Kaīfēng institution at the centre of town has been in business for years. With cabbage, mushroom and bamboo shoots, the egg soup (鸡蛋汤; jīdàn tāng; Y10) alone can feed an army, while the xiǎolóngbāo (小笼包; Y12 a steamer), yángròu bāozi (羊肉包子; lamb buns) or hǎimǐ bāozi (海米包子; shrimp buns) are all tasty. Sit back with a Bianjing Old Beer (Y12) and listen to evening singers crooning soppy songs.
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Tower of the Jade Emperor
The intriguingly shaped Tower of the Jade Emperor, repeatedly buried during the floods, contains a notable domed ceiling.
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Xinyue Bar
Dark, quiet and cosy bar tucked away west off Zhongshan Lu; look for the green glow of the Heineken sign.
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Sacred Heart of Jesus Church
Delve along Jiaojing Hutong until it meets the small Caoshi Jie (草市街), then head south and you will soon see the 1917 church's 43m-high spire. If you find the building open, pop in, take a pew and admire the grey-and-white interior.
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Zhōngyuè Temple
A few kilometres east of Dēngfēng, the ancient and hoary Zhōngyuè Miào is a colossal active Taoist monastery complex that originally dates back to the 2nd century BC. Less visited, the complex – set against a mountainous background – exudes a more palpable air of reverence than its Buddhist sibling, the Shàolín Temple. Besides attending the main hall dedicated to the Mountain God, walk through the Huàsān Gate (化三门; Huàsān Mén) and expunge pengju, pengzhi and pengjiao – three pestilential insects that respectively inhabit the brain, tummy and feet. Pay a visit to the Ministry of Hades (七十二司; Qīshí'èr Sī) and drop by the four Iron Men of …
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Zhēn Bù Tóng Fàndiàn
Huge place behind a colourful green, red, blue and gold traditional facade. This is the place to come for a water-banquet experience; if 24 courses seems a little excessive, you can opt to pick individual dishes from the menu.
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Yellow River Sightseeing Area
This area is about 8km north of North Gate (安达门; Āndá Mén), although there is little to see as the water level is low these days. Bus 6 runs from near the Iron Pagoda to the Yellow River twice daily. A taxi will cost Y50 to Y60 for the return trip.
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Yellow River
The river lies 25km north of town; bus 16 (Y5) goes there from Erma Lu, north of the train station. The road passes near Huāyuánkǒu village, where in April 1938 Kuomintang general Chiang Kaishek blew a dyke to flood Japanese troops. This desperate, ruthless tactic drowned about one million Chinese people and left another 11 million homeless and starving.
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