| Kaifeng 开封 |
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|---|---|
| — Prefecture-level city — | |
| 开封市 | |
| Kaifeng in Henan | |
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Kaifeng
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | People's Republic of China |
| Province | Henan |
| Area | |
| • Prefecture-level city | 6,247 km2 (2,412 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 546.4 km2 (211 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 546.4 km2 (211 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 75 m (245 ft) |
| Population (2010 census) | |
| • Prefecture-level city | 4,676,159 |
| • Density | 748.5/km2 (1,938.7/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 826,961 |
| • Urban density | 1,513.5/km2 (3,919.9/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 826,961 |
| • Metro density | 1,513.5/km2 (3,919.9/sq mi) |
| Time zone | China Standard (UTC+8) |
| Area code(s) | 378 |
| GDP | ¥7,250 per capita (2004) |
| Major Nationalities | Han, Hui |
| County-level divisions | 5 |
| Township-level divisions | 5 |
| License plate prefixes | 豫B |
| Website | http://www.kaifeng.gov.cn |
Kaifeng (simplified Chinese: 开封; traditional Chinese: 開封; pinyin: Kāifēng; Wade–Giles: K'aifeng), known previously by several names (see below), is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. Nearly 5 million people live in the metropolitan area. Located along the southern bank of the Yellow River, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the west, Xinxiang to the northwest, Shangqiu to the east, Zhoukou to the southeast, Xuchang to the southwest, and the province of Shandong to the northeast.
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The Chinese Postal Map Romanisation for the city is Kaifeng whilst its abbreviation is biàn (汴). Historically it has also been known as:
The name "Kaifeng" first appeared as the area's name after the Qin Dynasty's conquering of China in the 2nd century BC, and literally means "expand the borders".[1]
The prefecture-level city of Kaifeng administers five districts and five counties.
Kaifeng is one of the Seven Ancient Capitals of China. As with Beijing, there have been many reconstructions during its history.
In 364 BC during the Warring States Period, the State of Wei founded a city called Daliang (大梁）as its capital in this area. During this period, the first of many canals in the area was constructed linking a local river to the Yellow River. When the State of Wei was conquered by the State of Qin, Kaifeng was destroyed and abandoned except for a mid-sized market town, which remained in place.
Early in the 7th century, Kaifeng was transformed into a major commercial hub when it was connected to the Grand Canal as well as through the construction of a canal running to western Shandong Province.
In 781 during the Tang Dynasty, a new city was reconstructed and named Bian (汴). Bian was the capital of the Later Jin (936–946), Later Han (947–950), and Later Zhou (951–960) of the Five Dynasties Period. The Song Dynasty made Bian its capital when it overthrew the Later Zhou in 960. Shortly afterwards the city underwent further expansion.
During the Song Dynasty when it was known as Dongjing or Bianjing, Kaifeng was the Chinese capital with a population of over 400,000, living both inside and outside the city wall. Typhus was an acute problem in the city.
In 1049, the Youguosi Pagoda (佑国寺塔), or Iron Pagoda (铁塔) as it is called today was constructed measuring 54.7 metres (179 ft) in height. It has survived the vicissitudes of war and floods to become the oldest landmark in this ancient city. Another Song Dynasty pagoda, Bo Ta (繁塔), dating from 974 has been partially destroyed.
Another well-known sight was the astronomical clock tower of the engineer, scientist, and statesman Su Song (1020–1101 AD). It was crowned with a rotating armillary sphere that was hydraulically powered (i.e. by waterwheel and a clepsydra clock), yet it incorporated an escapement mechanism two hundred years before they were found in the clockworks of Europe and featured the first known endless power-transmitting chain drive.
Kaifeng reached its peak importance in the 11th century when it was a commercial and industrial center at the intersection of four major canals. During this time, the city was surrounded by three rings of city walls and probably had a population of between 600,000 and 700,000.
It is believed that Kaifeng was the largest city in the world from 1013 to 1127.[2]
This period ended in 1127 when the city fell to Jurchen invaders (see Jingkang Incident) and subsequently came under the rule of the Jin Dynasty. While it remained an important administrative center, only the city area inside the inner city wall of the early Song Dynasty remained settled and the two outer rings were abandoned.
One major problem associated with Kaifeng as the imperial capital of the Song Dynasty was its location. While it was conveniently situated along the Grand Canal for logistic supply, Kaifeng was militarily vulnerable due to its position on the flood plains of the Yellow River.
Kaifeng served as the Jurchen "southern capital" from 1157 (other sources say 1161) and was reconstructed during this time.[3] The Jurchen kept their main capital further north until 1214 when they were forced to move the imperial court southwards to Kaifeng in order to flee from the Mongol onslaught. In 1234 they succumbed to the combined Mongol and Song Dynasty forces. Mongols took control, and in 1279 they conquered all of China.
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty in 1368, Kaifeng was made the capital of Henan province.
In 1642, Kaifeng was flooded by the Ming army with water from the Yellow River to prevent the peasant rebel Li Zicheng from taking over. After this disaster the city was abandoned again.
Under the celebrated Qing emperor Kangxi (1662), Kaifeng was rebuilt. However, further flooding occurred in 1841 followed by another reconstruction in 1843, which produced the contemporary Kaifeng as it stands today.
Kaifeng is also known for having the oldest extant Jewish community in China, the Kaifeng Jews.
It was here too that in 1969, the former Chairman of the People's Republic of China Liu Shaoqi, died in prison from medical neglect.
Kaifeng has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa), with four distinct seasons. Winters are cool and mostly dry while summers are hot and humid; spring is warm and sees some, but not much rainfall, while autumn weather is crisp and drier. Precipitation mainly occurs from June to September.
| Climate data for Kaifeng (1971−2000) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 5.1 (41.2) |
8.4 (47.1) |
13.7 (56.7) |
21.5 (70.7) |
26.9 (80.4) |
31.3 (88.3) |
31.7 (89.1) |
30.5 (86.9) |
26.7 (80.1) |
21.3 (70.3) |
13.7 (56.7) |
7.3 (45.1) |
19.8 (67.6) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −4.1 (24.6) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
2.9 (37.2) |
9.6 (49.3) |
14.8 (58.6) |
19.8 (67.6) |
22.9 (73.2) |
22.0 (71.6) |
16.5 (61.7) |
10.1 (50.2) |
3.1 (37.6) |
−2.3 (27.9) |
9.5 (49.1) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 8.1 (0.319) |
11.2 (0.441) |
28.2 (1.11) |
35.4 (1.394) |
55.0 (2.165) |
73.4 (2.89) |
174.9 (6.886) |
109.7 (4.319) |
69.5 (2.736) |
41.5 (1.634) |
20.4 (0.803) |
9.9 (0.39) |
637.2 (25.087) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 2.9 | 3.9 | 5.9 | 6.2 | 6.8 | 7.8 | 11.3 | 9.0 | 7.6 | 6.6 | 4.5 | 3.0 | 75.5 |
| Source: Weather China | |||||||||||||
The best time of the year to visit Kaifeng is Spring (March to May) and Autumn (September to November), when the weather is warm and the chance of precipitation is low.
Kaifeng city centre is about 55km away from Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport – which has domestic connections to more than 20 Chinese cities, including Beijing Capital, Chengdu, Shanghai Hongqiao, Shanghai Pudong, Shenyang, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Hangzhou, Fuzhou, Harbin etc. China Eastern and China Southern Airlines also provide some international connections directly from Zhengzhou.
Kaifeng Railway Station is on the East-West Longhai Railway mainline and provides convenient access to many cities around China. Some important mid-distance services calling Kaifeng have been added below as of November 2011 and are subject to change when the China National Railway (CNR) changes the timetable. This list is by no mean exhaustive considering there are more than 90 passenger trains arrive and depart the station throughout the day every single day. General criteria for including these are for their comfort, speed and sociable arrival/departure times.
| From | Train Number | Departure Time | Arrival Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beijing West | 1303 | 20:35 | 06:44 (2nd day) |
| Beijing West | 1487 | 10:17 | 19:51 |
| Shanghai Hongqiao | D286/D287 | 07:45 | 14:12 |
| Shanghai Hongqiao | D292/D293 | 16:10 | 22:43 |
| Shanghai | K152/K153 | 16:43 | 06:28 (2nd day) |
| Shanghai | K282/K283 | 20:46 | 08:10 (2nd day) |
| Tianjin | K332/K329 | 19:46 | 05:53 (2nd day) |
| Tianjin | K1062/K1063 | 08:33 | 18:43 |
| Xi’an | K60/K61 | 21:21 | 06:11 (2nd day) |
| Xi’an | K292/K289 | 09:45 | 18:10 |
| Jinan | D257/D260 | 18:09 | 22:55 |
| Jinan | K15 | 07:08 | 14:58 |
| Hangzhou | T112/T113 | 09:53 | 22:06 |
| Hangzhou | K656/K657 | 17:34 | 06:21 (2nd day) |
| To | Train Number | Departure Time | Arrival Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beijing West | 1304 | 08:07 | 19:33 |
| Beijing West | 1488 | 20:55 | 09:11 (2nd day) |
| Shanghai Hongqiao | D294/D291 | 08:59 | 15:48 |
| Shanghai Hongqiao | D288/D285 | 15:43 | 22:41 |
| Shanghai | K154/K151 | 19:28 | 06:30 (2nd day) |
| Shanghai | K284/K281 | 20:30 | 07:13 (2nd day) |
| Tianjin | K330/K331 | 20:12 | 06:48 (2nd day) |
| Tianjin | K1064/K1061 | 19:45 | 05:08 (2nd day) |
| Xi’an | K1130/K1131 | 07:47 | 15:35 |
| Xi’an | K245/K248 | 22:17 | 05:44 (2nd day) |
| Jinan | D258/D259 | 13:02 | 17:49 |
| Jinan | K16 | 07:38 | 15:13 |
| Hangzhou | 2596/2593 | 21:35 | 13:24 (2nd day) |
| Hangzhou | K658/K655 | 19:36 | 09:12 (2nd day) |
Services to Zhengzhou, Luoyang and Qingdao are also frequent and convenient. Direct long distance services to Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing North, Harbin, Ürümqi, Fuzhou, Dalian and Wuhan are also available.
There are frequent services to many neighbouring counties, other provincial cities and longer distance services to other provinces.
Regular commuter bus services to provincial capital Zhengzhou run daily from about 6am to 22pm, departing from all above coach stations, at a peak frequency of about every 7-10mins and off peak frequency of about every 15mins. The journey time is about 1 hour and a half to 2 hours. Most of these services will pick up passengers en route at designated bus stops. Buy ticket onboard, single trip fare is RMB 7 for the 72km between the 2 cities. As such, passenger demand is fierce.
There are currently 40 bus routes serving the city of Kaifeng. Uniform fare of RMB 1 per trip applies to all local buses in the city. Use the front door to board and back door to get off. Pay when you board by inserting your RMB 1 coin or note in the onboard farebox.
With fare starts at only RMB 5 for 2km and RMB 1 for each additional kilometre thereafter, taxis are the most economical and efficient mode of transport in Kaifeng. Make sure the meter is on and do insist if it is not.
Kaifeng is headquarters of the 20th Group Army of the People's Liberation Army, one of the three group armies that comprise the Jinan Military Region responsible for defence of the Yellow River Plain.
Kaifeng offers a wide range of food specialities such as steaming pie and Chinese dumplings. In the evening, Kaifeng's streets turn into restaurants while hundreds open their stands and begin selling their food in the famous night market. Often people from the nearby Zhengzhou come to Kaifeng to spend an evening with their family as the atmosphere is very appealing. Less adventurous Western tourists may prefer to eat inside the restaurants and just have their drinks outside because they might not want to try chicken feet, pork feet or bucks. Particularly famous is Kaifeng's five-spice bread (wǔxiāng shāobǐng), which, like pita, can be opened and filled.
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Kaifeng is twinned with:
| City | Region | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Wichita | Kansas | United States |
| Kiryat Motzkin | Haifa | Israel |
| Toda | Saitama | Japan |
| Omsk | Omsk Oblast | Russia |
| Preceded by Chang'an |
Capital of China (as Kaifeng) 960-1127 |
Succeeded by Lin'an |
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