Zhengzhou vs Kaifeng
The short answer
Kaifeng is the cheaper trip, by roughly 27% a day — $25–45 against $35–60 mid-range per person. Both are at their best in Sep–Oct, so one trip can take in both.
Side by side
Mid-range, per person, in US dollars. Both guides were costed the same way — see how we work these out.
| 🇨🇳 Zhengzhou | 🇨🇳 Kaifeng | |
|---|---|---|
| Daily budgetmid-range, per person | $35–60 | $25–45cheaper |
| Cheap meallocal staple | $1.50–4 | $1.20–3cheaper |
| Mid-range hotelper night | $40–75 | $30–55cheaper |
| Transit ridesingle trip | $0.30–0.70 | $0.30–0.45 |
| Avg. monthly salarylocal, for context | ≈ $980 | ≈ $780 |
When to go
Filled months are the ones each guide recommends; hollow ones it warns off.
What you'd actually do
A few of each guide's picks, one per category before seconds — the full lists are on the guides themselves.
🇨🇳 Zhengzhou
Henan's capital and the busiest rail junction in China — a working provincial megacity most travelers pass through on the way to Shaolin, and the cheapest comfortable base in the country's ancient heartland.
- Henan Museum$Museums
- Shaolin Temple & the Pagoda Forest$$Day trips
- Erqi Memorial Tower$The city
- Heji Hui Mian$Restaurants
- Zhengzhou Shang City walls$Museums
🇨🇳 Kaifeng
Capital of the Northern Song and, a thousand years ago, probably the largest city on earth. Today a low-rise, walkable town whose real attraction is a night market that takes over the streets after dark.
- Drum Tower night market$Night markets & street food
- Millennium City Park (Qingming Shanghe Yuan)$$$Song dynasty sites
- Daxiangguo Temple$$Temples & walls
- Diyilou (First Floor)$$Restaurants
- Xisi night market$Night markets & street food
Practicalities
| Zhengzhou | Kaifeng | |
|---|---|---|
| Language | Mandarin Chinese with a Henan accent. English is rare outside international hotels — a translation app is essential. | Mandarin Chinese with a Henan accent. English is very rare — a translation app is not optional here. |
The same in both:
- Currency
- Renminbi / yuan (¥ or RMB). US$1 ≈ ¥7.15
- Time zone
- CST (UTC+8), one zone nationwide, no daylight saving
- Power
- Type A/C/I plugs, 220V
- Tap water
- Don't drink it — bottled or boiled water everywhere
- Emergency
- 110 police · 120 ambulance · 119 fire