Kaifeng : Main Scenic Spots

This 13-story tower, built 900 years ago, is made of iron-coloured glazed bricks. Its eaves, pillars, and lintels are made from bricks glazed to resemble wood. The bricks have been carved in a very naturalistic style, with motifs of Buddhist immortals, musicians, flowers, plants and animals. It was built in 1044 on the site of an earlier wooden pagoda, which had been struck by lightning. Its base was badly damaged in a flood in 1841, but its fabric has survived very well.

Originally constructed in 555 A.D., completely destroyed in the flooding of the city in 1644, and the present buildings date from the Qing Dynasty. One of the temples hall is octagonal, with a small six-sided pavilion rising from the centre of the roof-a curiosity, since temple halls are usually rectangular. Xiangguo Temple features an ornate thousand-armed, thousand-eyed Buddha that was carved from the wood of a ginkgo tree.

Dragon Pavilion stands on the site a Northern Song Dynasty palace, the period of Kaifeng's greatest political and cultural glory. Like much of Kaifeng, the site was flooded in 1644 and all earlier buildings were lost. The current buildings are of Qing Dynasty origin, built between 1644 and 1900. Its present name, Dragon Pavilion, is believed to be derived from the magnificent cube of carved stone, which stands inside the pavilion. A wax museum depicting Song historical scenes is inside.

Even today, this is one of Henan Province's most active Muslim religious centres. The site dates back many centuries, though the buildings were reconstructed in 1922 after yet another Yellow River flood.

Sometimes known as the Old Music Terrace, situated in an idyllic city park, King Yu's terrace is said to have been a favourite place for poets of Tang Dynasty to drink wine and recite poetry, including such notables as Du Fu and Li Bai. << Back to Kaifeng Info