Atlas
Kaifeng Ancient City
Northern Song Kaifeng's waterways opened space for night markets and urban life beyond the ward walls.
Prefecture: Kaifeng
Province: HenanA tall brown pagoda of many storeys rises from a grassy lawn among weeping willows, with a stretch of water in the distance and willow strands hanging at right.
Civic Building1
- Kaifeng Prefecture Yamen & Bao Zheng Memorial
Bao Zheng, Kou Zhun and Ouyang Xiu once governed from this foremost prefecture of the Northern Song, which keeps a treasured Song stele listing its prefects.
Tower1
- Iron Pagoda of Kaifeng (Kaibao Temple Pagoda)
Rising thirteen octagonal storeys since 1049, Kaifeng's glazed-brick Iron Pagoda is faced with flying-apsaras tiles and has withstood storms and earthquakes for nearly a millennium.
Temple1
- Daxiangguo Temple Octagonal Hall in Kaifeng
Once an imperial Northern Song temple and an international centre of Buddhist exchange, Daxiangguo Temple keeps a four-faced Thousand-Armed Guanyin carved from a single Qing ginkgo tree.
Gardens1
- Millennium City Park in Kaifeng
Recreating Zhang Zeduan's painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival in life-size scenes, the park brings Bianliang's markets, rainbow bridge and river traffic to life.
Song2
- Kaibao Temple Glazed Pagoda Built1049 CE
In 1049, Kaifeng's Kaibao Temple Pagoda was built as a thirteen-story octagonal glazed-brick tower, later nicknamed the Iron Pagoda for its color.
- Bao Zheng Governs Kaifeng1056–1058 CE
From 1056 to 1058, Bao Zheng served as acting prefect of Kaifeng, handling flooding, unlawful construction, and legal affairs.