Kaifeng

Kaifeng, 开封 in Chinese, known as Bianliang or Bianjing in ancient times, is situated in the East Henan Plain, ten kilometers south of the Huanghe River (Yellow River), and is highly recommended for its history and quiet, exotic charm. The City of Kaifeng covers an area of 359square kilometers and has a population of 530, 000. It is level and stretches as far as the eye can see. Kaifeng has a mild temperate monsoon climate.

Kaifeng is a city under the jurisdiction of Henan Province. It was one of the six major ancient capitals of China (the other five are Xi'an, Luoyang, Beijing, Nanjing and Hangzhou). The City of Kaifeng was already in existence before 700 BC. Early in the Spring and Autumn Period(770-476 BC), Prince Zhuang of the Zheng State ordered a city to be built here named Kaifeng, which meant "expanding the domain."

During the Warring States Period more than 2, 300 years ago, King Hui of the State of Wei moved his capital to Kaifeng from Anyi, rebuilt the city and called it Daliang. After this, Kaifeng became the capital of several dynasties-the Later Liang, the Later Jin, the Later Han, the Later Zhou, the Northern Song and the Jin Dynasties. During the Song Dynasty it was an important commercial and communications center, producing textiles, porcelain, and printed materials.

With 120 recorded Yellow River floods due to dams breaking near Kaifeng between 1194 and 1948, one wonders why Kaifeng exists at all. In1642, during a peasant uprising, a Yellow River dike was destroyed by Ming forces so that the city was completely inundated and 372, 000people were killed. In 1938, the Kuoming tang Army destroyed the dam upriver near Zhengzhou to stop the Japanese and 840, 000 people died. Today, the riverbed, raised by centuries of silt deposits, is about 10 meters higher than the ground level near Kaifeng.

Since 1949, the Chinese government has given top priority to controlling the Yellow River, and since1984 the Chinese Government and the United Nations World Grain Planning Program have worked together on an irrigation project here. Kaifeng was the provincial capital of Henan in the Ming and Qing Dynasties until 1954 when the provincial capital was moved to Zhengzhou. Kaifeng is one of 24 cities of historical importance protected by the State Council.

Today, fundamental changes have taken place and remarkable achievements have been made. The city itself has also been enlarged.

As an ancient capital, Kaifeng has many historical relics and scenic spots. Some of them have been preserved, such as the Iron Pagoda, the Po Pagoda, the Xiangguo Monastery, the Dragon Pavilion and the Terrace of King Yu and Yanqing Taoist Temple. They are precious relics of Chinese culture.