Historic city · Cultural centre · Henan
Kaifeng
开封
Bianjing, capital of the Northern Song, city built on cities
Kaifeng is a prefecture-level city in eastern Henan, south of the Yellow River, and was the capital of the Northern Song dynasty from 960 to 1127, when as Bianjing or Dongjing it was among the largest cities in the world. Repeated Yellow River floods buried earlier cities beneath the present one; the Iron Pagoda, the Xiangguo Temple and the Qing city wall survive above ground.
Key facts
Overview
Kaifeng lies on the flat plain a few kilometres south of the Yellow River, whose raised bed now runs above the level of the city. Its position on the Bian canal, which linked the Yellow River to the Huai and the Grand Canal, made it the commercial centre of northern China in the tenth century, and five of the Five Dynasties as well as the Northern Song ruled from here.
The Song city was densely populated and commercial, with night markets, teahouses and entertainment quarters, as shown in the scroll Along the River During the Qingming Festival. Floods and war destroyed it repeatedly, and the present city — with its lakes, Qing wall and low-rise streets — sits on top of its predecessors. Kaifeng is now a medium-sized city of heritage, food and chrysanthemums.
Names and nicknames
汴京
Name of the city as Song capital, after the Bian River canal; also called 汴梁 Bianliang.
东京
“Eastern Capital”
Official name of the capital under the Northern Song.
大梁
Capital of the Warring States kingdom of Wei.
城摞城
“city stacked on city”
Description of the layers of buried cities — Wei, Tang, Song, Jin, Ming and Qing — under the modern town.
History
The kingdom of Wei moved its capital to Daliang in the fourth century BCE; Qin destroyed it by flooding in 225 BCE. Kaifeng rose again as a canal city under the Tang and became the capital of the Later Liang, Later Jin, Later Han and Later Zhou, and then of the Northern Song. The Jurchen Jin captured it in 1127, ending the Northern Song. A Jewish community lived in the city from the Song period, building a synagogue in 1163. The Ming-era city was drowned in 1642. Kaifeng was the provincial capital until 1954.
4th century BCE
Daliang, capital of Wei
The Warring States kingdom of Wei moved its capital here; Qin flooded and destroyed it in 225 BCE.
960
Northern Song capital
Zhao Kuangyin founded the Song dynasty and ruled from Kaifeng.
1049
Iron Pagoda built
The thirteen-storey brick pagoda owes its name to its iron-coloured glazed tiles.
early 12th century
Along the River During the Qingming Festival
Zhang Zeduan's scroll depicts the bustling life of the city and its surroundings.
1127
Fall of Kaifeng (Jingkang Incident)
The Jin captured the city and carried off the emperors Huizong and Qinzong; the Song court fled south.
1163
Synagogue built
The Kaifeng Jewish community, which kept its identity for centuries, built its synagogue.
1642
The great flood
During Li Zicheng's siege the dykes were breached and the city was destroyed by water.
1954
Capital moves to Zhengzhou
The provincial government moved to the railway junction of Zhengzhou, and Kaifeng ceased to be the capital.
Landmarks
Temple or shrine
Iron Pagoda
铁塔
Song pagoda of 1049 clad in brown glazed tiles moulded with Buddhist figures.
Temple or shrine
Daxiangguo Temple
大相国寺
Buddhist temple founded in 555 and the leading monastery of the Song capital, with a thousand-armed Guanyin carved from a single ginkgo.
Historic site
Dragon Pavilion
龙亭
Qing hall on a high platform over the site of the Song imperial palace, between two lakes.
Historic site
Kaifeng city wall
开封城墙
Qing wall encircling the old city, built on earlier walls, among the longest surviving city walls in China.
Historic site
Temple of Lord Bao
包公祠
Memorial to Bao Zheng, the Song magistrate famed for incorruptibility.
Modern landmark
Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden
清明上河园
Theme park recreating the scenes of Zhang Zeduan's scroll, with performances.
Historic site
Shan-Shaan-Gan Guild Hall
山陕甘会馆
Qing merchants' guild hall of Shanxi, Shaanxi and Gansu traders, with fine wood and brick carving.
Neighbourhoods
Drum Tower
鼓楼
The centre of the old city, with the night market.
Bookshop Street
书店街
Old commercial street of shops with Qing-style fronts.
Food
Soup dumplings
灌汤包
Thin-skinned buns filled with pork and hot broth, a Kaifeng speciality.
Carp with fried noodles
鲤鱼焙面
Sweet-and-sour Yellow River carp under a nest of crisp noodles.
Tongzi chicken
桶子鸡
Whole chicken cooked in aged master stock, served cold.
Almond tea
杏仁茶
Sweet almond-flour drink poured from a dragon-spouted copper kettle at the night market.
Culture
Kaifeng keeps a strong sense of its Song past: the city's night markets continue the tradition of the Song capital, and the autumn chrysanthemum fair, held for decades, recalls the flower's popularity in Song times. Nearby Zhuxianzhen is one of China's old centres of woodblock New Year prints, and Bian embroidery follows Song painting styles.
Getting around
- Kaifeng North is on the high-speed line from Zhengzhou to Xuzhou; an intercity line links Kaifeng with Zhengzhou.
- The old city inside the wall is compact and suited to walking or cycling.
Day trips
Zhuxianzhen
朱仙镇
Market town south of the city, known for woodblock prints and a temple to Yue Fei.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Kaifeng Municipal People's Government — Kaifeng Municipal People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Seventh National Population Census communiqués — National Bureau of Statistics of China (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Kaifeng — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)
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