Vacation in Kaifeng China with Asian Vacations, Inc.

Tie Ta (Iron Pagoda)

Standing on a hill, north of the Henan University in the northeastern part of the city, the pagoda was first built in 982 (during the Sung Dynasty). It is a Buddhist pagoda where the finger bone of a dignitary is kept. The pagoda, made of an entire timber frame, was kept in Kaibao Temple when it was originally built. Later in 1049, the surface of the pagoda was covered with iron-colored glazed tiles and it gained the name Iron Pagoda. The temple was renamed several times in the successive periods and was finally pulled down during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD). The thirteen-story pagoda rises to about 60m with an entire timber frame interior. On the brick basement are exquisite carved patterns of animals, Buddhist motifs and flora. It has stood for over 900 years and remains intact. A park has been built for the pagoda to which several halls and temples have been added. It provides a good venue for the appreciation of Chinese carvings, inscriptions and color-painted statues. Admission: �15.

Baogong Memorial Temple
Located on the west bank of Baogong Lake, the Baogong Memorial Temple was built to commemorate the respectable and morally lofty official Bao Zheng in the Northern Sung Dynasty in 1984. He has been honored as one of the most honest and upright judges in Chinese history and has been praised by generation after generation. The temple occupies a floorage of 1,800 sq. m and consists of the Main Hall, the Second Hall, two subsidiary Halls on the east and west sides, Hall-wall Corridor, the stone stele pavilion and the main entrance, most of which were designed and built in typical Sung style. In the center of the Main Hall stands a 2.5m high bronze statue of Bao Zheng. On the gable walls of the four sides, there are four large painted murals which mirrors the significant achievements of Bao Zheng. In the second Hall, there is a rubbing of Bao Gong's stone carving statue. In the display cabinet, hangs an inspiring poem written by Bao Zheng which represents his idea and resolution about his official career. The family precepts drafted by Bao Zheng is also shown in the display cabinet, saying that the offspring of his family, once found corrupted in the official posts should not be allowed to return to the family, should not be buried in the family ancestral cemetery and those who do not obey this will not be his offspring. In the east and west two subsidiary halls, the sculptures and pictures connected with the stories and tales about Bao Zheng are exhibited and the three copper cutters used to punish the convicted are also on display.

The City Wall
As an important strategic point of the Central Plains, Kaifeng was founded as Daliang City by the Wei Kingdom as early as 2,300 years ago in the Warring States Period. The city wall was rebuilt and enlarged during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), the Five Dynasties, Zhou Dynasty (1027 or 1022 - 221 BC), Northern Sung Dynasty, Jin Dynasty and Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD). There are five entrances, which are very grand and significant. In the Ming Dynasty, the city was badly damaged by flood. In 1662 AD, the first year of the Kangxi Period in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD), the city was rebuilt on the remnant of the old one and later, in 1841 was rebuilt and has been kept until today. According to records, the total length of the city wall is 14.15km with a height of more than 11m. The parapet is 2m tall with a width of 5m on the top and 7m at the bottom. At the four corners of the city wall, there are four corner tower, and the entire wall contains eight enemy broadcasting towers. At present, the gates of the entrances are no longer in existence, but the surrounding wall remains almost in its previous dimensions. This ancient city wall is one of the few preserved in China.

Yanqing Daoist Temple
Yanqing Daoist Temple is situated on Shengli Street to the northeast of Bao Gong Lake. It was formerly called Chongyang Temple because it was built to commemorate the originator of Quanzhen Daoism in the Northern Sung Dynasty and was renamed as Yanqing Temple in the early days of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD). Later dynasties found the temple rebuilt and destroyed many times. Yuhuang tower, the only extant structure, built in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 AD), 13 m tall, has three stories with the upper part round in shape and the lower part square in shape. On the side facing the south, there is a door with two iron windows on both sides. The entire tower was built with blue bricks and has a crown roof inlayed with colored glazed tiles. On top of the tower is an octagonal pavilion covered by glazed-tiles and on the lofty point there is a copper ball. Inside the Yuhuang tower, the statue of the Jade Emperor is enshrined. The statue is made of white marble and is very exquisite and delicate.

Da Xiangguo Temple (The Temple of Chief Minister)
The Temple of Chief Minster is located on Ziyou Road. It was set up during the Northern Qi Dynasty and came into its prime phase during the Northern Sung Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) it was destroyed by floods. Later, during the Shunzhi and Qianlong Periods in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD) it was rebuilt several times. After the founding of the Peoples Republic of China (1949 to date), there has been an all-round repair and maintaining and now, it covers an area of thirty mu. The temple consists of the Hall for the Heavenly Guardians, the Hall for the Great Hero, Octagonal Shaped Glazed Hall and the Scripture Chambre.. The Octagonal Shaped Glazed Hall consists of two parts--the outside corridor is 9.8 m high and the central pavilion stands 16.9 m high. In the pavilion, stands a Goddess of Mercy with numerous hands and eyes which is over 7 m high and is decorated with gold on its surface. It was made from one gingko tree trunk in the Qinglong Period of the Qing Dynasty. The Bell Pavilion is another attraction of the temple, in which stands a huge Bell cast in 33rd year of Qianlong's reign. The Bell is approximately 16.9m high and weighs over 10,000 jin. It is said that the sound of the bell can travel the longest distance when it is struck on a frosty day. Therefore, "Xiangguo Frost Bell" has been regarded as one of the eight beautiful sceneries of Kaifeng.

Guild Hall
Located on Xufu Street, Guild Hall was built in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD), sponsored by the collected money from Shanxi, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces and used as the gathering and meeting place for the people of these three provinces. The present Guild Hall is part of the Guandi Temple and is well-known for its brick sculptures, stone carvings and wooden sculptures. The 12m long screen wall is inlayed with brick carvings of human figures, birds, animals, flowers and fruits.. On the back of the wall is a 2 sq. m stone carving with a design of two dragons playing with a pearl set right in the middle, twelve small dragons coiling around them together with beautiful flower patterns. The wooden carvings in the flanking halls, bell and drum towers and memorial arched buildings form a magnificent long corridor of all kinds of wooden works of arts.

Color-Glazed Tower (Iron Tower)
At the northeast corner of Kaifeng city, stands the oldest color-glazed brick tower remaining in China today. The former tower, made of wood and built in the Sung Dynasty unfortunately burned by lightning fire in a later period. In the year 1049 AD in the Sung Dynasty, it was rebuilt of brick and called Baosi Tower. The tower, with its thirteen stories, is 54.66m high and octagonal in shape. The outside of the tower was inlayed with brown brick of twenty-eight different molds, making the tower appear iron colored from a far distance; thence it's also been called Iron Tower. There are more than fifty diversified patterns and designs on the bricks, such as flying Apsaras, Buddhas, men of great strength and unicorns. Inside the tower, surrounding the central post, is a circling strain with 168 levels rising up to the top.. Every story possesses several big windows. In the main hall to the west of the tower, there is a bronze statue of Buddha that is 5.14 m high and 12 tons weight, which is cherished as the valuable works of arts cast in the Sung-Jin periods.

Longting (Dragon Pavilion) Scenic Spot
At the northwest corner of Kaifeng City, lies the prominent Longting Scenic Spot. As early as the Sung and Jin periods, there was the palace where the emperors lived and worked. The principle part of the Longting complex is the well-known Longting Main Hall, built in 1734 during the reign of Yong Zheng in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD). The original name was Wanshou Palace (Palace of Longevity). It has a splendid stone foundation which is about 13 m high with seventy-two stairs leading to the top. The Longting Main Hall is nine rooms wide in the front and 26m high decorated with yellowish-green glazed tiles, delicate sculptures and beautiful pictures. The double-eaved roofs warp upwards, giving the entire structure a look of elegance. Inside the Main Hall lies a huge black stone block called Dragon Stone around which thirteen rolling dragons have been skillfully and precisely engraved. Tradition has it that it is the place where ancient people received the imperial edict and where people enshrine the former emperors� memorial tablets. Now, in the Main Hall, the wax figures of Zhao Kuangyin, the first emperor of the Sung Dynasty along with his high officials and ministers are displayed. On each side outside the Wuzao Gate, stands a large stone lion, created in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) full of power and grandeur.

Yu Street of the Sung Dynasty Capital

Yu Street was built on the north of the old Yu Street in Sung Dynasty which led to the Imperial Palace. The street is a total of 400 m long, 30 m wide and covers a floorage area of 16,963 sq. m. It is built next to the Longting Scenic Zone. The entire street was designed to maintain a distinctive Sung Dynasty architectural style with 2 or 3 story buildings. There stand small stores row upon row as well as taller and bigger towers in an ancient style. Here you can find not only blue bricks and gray tiles, brown columns and painted beams, but also red fences and carved windows decorated with stone, brick and wooden carvings showing classic beauty and elegant tastes. The most typical structures in Yujie street would be the Corner Towers, the Fan Tower and the Memorial Archway. At the South entrance of Yujie street lies the Memorial Archway. Two Corner Towers are just on the wings of the Memorial Archway, each with stories, decorated with green glazed tiles and graphite bricks. Fan Tower is located on the west side of Yujie Street's north end, which is set up according to the description in "the Imagination Records in Dongjing. It contains five separate towers in five different directions � east, west, north, south and middle. Separate as they are, the five towers are connected to one another by suspension bridges, corridors and railings. The unique and ingenious structures deserve praise. Yujie Street is also a cultural and entertainment center where tourists can find catering, accommodation, shopping and amusements. The horizontal inscribed boards, couplets on pillars and names of shops are predominantly adopted from certain records of the Sung Dynasty. The service people and attendants all dress in costumes of the Sung style, which seems to transport tourists to the ancient world.

Yuwang Temple
Located on East Fanta Street in the southern outskirts of Kaifeng City, Yuwang Temple was first built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) to commemorate Da Yu, and was rebuilt in the Kang Xi Period of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD). Tradition has that Da Yu once lived here when he was regulating and controlling the Yellow River. The temple consists of five main halls, towering and lofty. In the Yuwang Hall, there stands a sculptured statue of Da Yu with three huge delicate pictures engraved on both sides of the brick walls depicting Da Yu "Controlling the River", "Awarding" and "Plowing". These pictures vividly mirror the contribution, merits and virtues of Da Yu. It is said that the great musician of the Jin Kingdom, in the Spring and Autumn Period, once played music here, so it is also called Ancient Blowing Temple for the memory of this significant blind musician. In the two east and west subsidiary halls, statues of Li Bai, Du Fu and Gao Shi, the three eminent and time-honored poets in ancient China, are kept. In the eastern yard of the temple, the Three Talent Ancestral Hall was built in memory of these three poets. Opposite the Three Talent Ancestral Hall is the Shuide Hall (Hall for the River Controlling Heroes) built to commemorate the 37 pioneers who devoted themselves to regulating and controlling the Yellow River in history.