🇨🇳Kaifeng
Capital of the Northern Song and, a thousand years ago, probably the largest city on earth. Today a low-rise, walkable town whose real attraction is a night market that takes over the streets after dark.
Prices checked · how we work these out
Quick facts
Money & what things cost
Kaifeng is one of the cheapest places in this guide, and the gap shows most at dinner: a full evening of grazing the Drum Tower night market runs well under ¥60. Alipay and WeChat Pay cover everything including market stalls, and both work with foreign cards in their international mode — worth setting up before you arrive, because Kaifeng has fewer fallbacks than a big city if your card is refused. There is no metro, so budget for the occasional Didi. A VPN is essential, as everywhere in mainland China.
What locals earn
| Average monthly salary (Kaifeng, urban) | ≈ ¥5,600 ($780) | below Zhengzhou, an hour up the line |
| Typical entry-level salary | ≈ ¥3,200–4,300 ($450–600) | |
| Minimum wage (Henan, tier-2 districts) | ¥1,900/month (≈ $265) |
Food & drink
| Item | Local price | ≈ USD |
|---|---|---|
| Guantangbao (soup dumplings), basket | ¥10–20 | $1.40–2.80 |
| Night-market snack or skewer | ¥3–10 | $0.40–1.40 |
| Almond tea (xingren cha) | ¥8–15 | $1.10–2.10 |
| Full night-market dinner, per person | ¥30–60 | $4.20–8.40 |
| Sit-down restaurant, per person | ¥35–70 | $4.90–9.80 |
| Local beer at a bar | ¥8–20 | $1.10–2.80 |
Transport
| Item | Local price | ≈ USD |
|---|---|---|
| City bus | ¥2–3 | $0.30–0.45 |
| Didi (ride-hail) across town | ¥10–20 | $1.40–2.80 |
| Taxi flag fare | ¥5–8 | $0.70–1.10 |
| High-speed train from Zhengzhou | ¥17–43 | $2.40–6.00 |
| Ordinary train from Zhengzhou | ¥12–15 | $1.70–2.10 |
| Millennium City Park entry | ¥100–120 | $14–17 |
| Iron Pagoda Park entry | ¥40–65 | $5.60–9.10 |
Where to sleep & what it costs
| Tier | Per night | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hostel dorm | ¥45–85 ($6.30–12) | A handful of guesthouses inside the old walls near the Drum Tower |
| Budget hotel | ¥120–230 ($17–32) | Chinese chains cluster near the bus station and along Zhongshan Road |
| Mid-range hotel | ¥215–390 ($30–55) | Best value in the old town, walking distance from the night market |
| Luxury | ¥580+ ($81+) | A small number of upscale hotels; nothing at international five-star level |
Trip cost calculator
$69 per person per day · 4 nights of lodging (Mid-range hotel)
A rough estimate from this page’s daily budget and hotel prices — not a quote. Lodging assumes one room for the group.
Getting around
- From Zhengzhou
- This is how nearly everyone arrives. High-speed trains from Zhengzhou East to Kaifeng North take 20–30 minutes and cost ¥17–43, with well over a hundred departures a day. Ordinary trains from Zhengzhou station to Kaifeng station take 40–50 minutes for around ¥12–15 and drop you closer to the old town.
- From the airport
- Kaifeng has no airport of its own. Fly into Zhengzhou Xinzheng (CGO), then take a direct intercity train or a Didi — roughly 70–90 minutes by road depending on traffic.
- On foot
- The best way to see Kaifeng. The old town inside the Ming-era walls is flat, low-rise and compact — the Drum Tower night market, Daxiangguo Temple and the main shopping streets are all within an easy walk of each other.
- Buses and Didi
- There is no metro. City buses cost ¥2–3 and cover the main routes; Didi is cheap enough (¥10–20 across town) that most visitors default to it for the Iron Pagoda and Millennium City Park, which sit outside the compact centre.
- Electric tuk-tuks
- Three-wheelers hover around the tourist sites. Fine for a short hop, but agree the fare before getting in — they don't run on meters, and they are the one part of local transport where visitors get overcharged.
Neighborhoods to stay in
- Old town, near the Drum Tower
- The obvious first-timer base — you can walk out into the night market and back, which is the whole point of coming.
- Near Kaifeng railway station
- Cheapest rooms and convenient for ordinary trains to Zhengzhou. About 15 minutes' walk south of the old centre.
- Longting / Millennium City Park area
- Quieter and greener, beside the lakes and the main historic parks. Better for a second visit than a first.
- Near Kaifeng North station
- Only worth it if you're catching an early high-speed train — it's well outside town with little around it.
Things to do
Night markets & street food
Song dynasty sites
Temples & walls
Restaurants
Tipping & etiquette
- The night market is the evening, not a stop within it — locals treat it as dinner, so arrive hungry rather than eating first.
- Guantangbao are filled with scalding broth. Nip a corner, drink the soup, then eat the dumpling; biting straight in is how visitors burn their mouths.
- The chrysanthemum festival in October and November brings very large domestic crowds — book hotels well ahead if you're visiting then.
- Agree a price with electric tuk-tuk drivers before setting off; they don't use meters.
- Avoid the topics of Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang politics with new acquaintances — it's more awkward for your host than risky for you.
Safety & common scams
Kaifeng is a small, safe city where walking the old town alone at night is entirely normal — the night market is busy and well lit until late. The genuine difficulty is language: English is rarer here than in Zhengzhou or Xi'an, and menus and signage are often Chinese-only, so a translation app with an offline pack is worth setting up before you arrive.
Scams to know
- Electric tuk-tuks quoting a fare after the ride rather than before — settle the price first, or use Didi.
- Unofficial 'guides' outside Millennium City Park offering discounted or skip-the-queue tickets — buy at the official counter or through the park's own channel.
- Fake 'Song dynasty' antiques and calligraphy at stalls near the temples — treat everything sold this way as a modern reproduction.
- Overpriced tea-house invitations from unusually friendly English speakers — less common here than in Beijing, but the same routine; decline politely.
Emergency numbers: 110 (police) · 120 (ambulance) · 119 (fire) — English-language support is minimal; your hotel can help translate if needed
Phone & internet
Buy an eSIM (China Unicom or China Mobile via Airalo) before you land, or pick up a tourist SIM at Zhengzhou's Xinzheng airport on the way through — Kaifeng itself has no airport and limited SIM counters. As everywhere in mainland China, Google, WhatsApp, Instagram and most Western apps are blocked by the Great Firewall, so install and test a reputable VPN before leaving home. Alipay and WeChat work without a VPN and handle both payment and translation.
First-timer FAQs
Day trip from Zhengzhou, or stay overnight?
Stay the night if you can. The high-speed train makes a day trip easy — 20–30 minutes each way — but Kaifeng's single best thing is the Drum Tower night market, which doesn't get going until dusk. Coming for the day means seeing the historic parks and leaving before the city is at its best. One night is enough to fix that.
Is Millennium City Park worth ¥100?
If you like the idea of a Song dynasty reconstruction with costumed staff and staged battles, yes — it's well made and the Rainbow Bridge from the scroll painting is genuinely striking. If theme-park history puts you off, skip it and spend the money on the Iron Pagoda, Daxiangguo Temple and the city wall instead, which are older and real.
How long do I need?
One night and two half-days covers it comfortably: historic parks in the afternoon, night market in the evening, Iron Pagoda and the wall the next morning. Two nights suits you if the chrysanthemum festival is on or you want a slower pace. Kaifeng is small — this is not a city that needs a week.
Do I need a visa?
Americans still need a tourist (L) visa arranged in advance. UK, Canadian, most European, Australian and New Zealand passport holders can currently enter visa-free for up to 30 days. Kaifeng has no international entry point of its own, so you'll clear immigration at Zhengzhou or elsewhere — see the Travel prep section on the China page for current detail.
What should I actually eat here?
Guantangbao — soup dumplings — are the city's dish, best at Diyilou or from a night-market stall. Beyond that: fried mung-bean jelly (chao liangfen), lamb skewers, peanut cake, stewed noodles, and almond tea, a sweet thick drink with sesame and dried fruit that is more of a dessert than a beverage. Almost none of it costs more than ¥15.
Similar cities to consider
A long, laid-back island south of Krabi that takes real effort to reach and rewards it — quiet west-coast beaches, a stilted Sino-Thai fishing village, and a slower pace than Phuket or Krabi ever offer.
The ruined former capital of the Siamese kingdom — brick chedis and headless Buddhas scattered across a bicycle-friendly park, an easy 1.5-hour train ride from Bangkok's chaos.
A thousand-year-old capital where motorbikes swarm narrow Old Quarter streets, French colonial villas sit beside pagodas, and plastic stools spill onto the sidewalk for the country's best bowl of pho.