In Henan, this ancient building complex, completely newly built, with tickets exceeding 100 yuan, yet always fully booked upon arrival, is considered worth visiting.

Henan, located in the Central Plains, is one of the most important origins of Chinese civilization, and in ancient times, it gave birth to China's most brilliant culture. Henan also became one of the most important ancient Chinese military, cultural, and political centers. Of the Seven Famous Ancient Capitals of China, three are located in Henan: Luoyang, Kaifeng, andanyang, which fully demonstrates Henan's prominent status in ancient China. Behind the glorious history, there are often the scars of war. Due to Henan's important geographical location, it has always been a major site for dynastic changes, and almost every dynastic change brought war to Henan, causing much of the civilization of thousands of years to disappear in the war, which is indeed a great regret for Chinese civilization.

Henan Map

Due to its rich historical and cultural heritage, Henan attracts many important tourists, especially Luoyang and Kaifeng. However, compared to its neighbor Luoyang, Kaifeng appears much more understated. It was once one of the most prosperous cities in the world, but now it is still a four-line city, and the city is still slowly moving forward at a slow pace despite its former fame.

Kaifeng, formerly known as Bianjing, is one of the famous Seven Ancient Capitals, especially during the Northern Song Dynasty, it served as the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, called Tokyo. At that time, the Song Dynasty was in its most prosperous period, with abundant culture and people, which was one of the most prosperous periods of the Chinese feudal dynasty. Bianjing also rose to become one of the world's most prosperous cities with the prosperity of the Song Dynasty. However, with the demise of the Song Dynasty, Kaifeng also declined. Because it is adjacent to the Yellow River, the city has been repeatedly affected by the Yellow River disasters. The prosperous architectural groups of the Song Dynasty have been completely buried underground. Today, the ancient city of Kaifeng can hardly see much of the prosperity of the past.

Although most of the buildings in Kaifeng are buried deep underground by several meters, its culture has been passed down to this day. The famous painting depicting the prosperity of the Northern Song Dynasty, ‘’ was completely preserved. Through the brushstrokes of painter Zhang Zeduan, people can feel the prosperity and wealth of that era.

Qingming River View

To make up for the regret of history, a Song Dynasty ancient architectural group has been newly built in the Kaifeng downtown area, completely recreating the famous ‘Qingming River View’ in a 1:1 ratio, and named Qingming River View Garden. Qingming River View Garden covers an area of more than 600 acres, with a water area of 180 acres, more than 50 large ancient ships, more than 400 houses, and a landscape architectural area of more than 30,000 square meters, forming the largest reconstructed Song Dynasty architecture in the Central Plains.

Qingming River View Garden Performance

Qingming River View Garden is a national AAAA-level scenic area, and the ticket price is not cheap, reaching 100 yuan. However, the scenic area concentrates the showcase of Song Dynasty elements such as wine shops, tea houses, pawn shops, Luoyang brocade, official porcelain, and New Year paintings; gathers folk performances such as juggling, acrobatics, drum performances, divination, gambling, fighting chickens and dogs, and so on. It also features the bustling street scene of the capital city of Bianjing for thousands of years. In particular, the scenic area vividly integrates history, making it a live performance. There are 20-odd performances scheduled every day, such as ‘Public Bao Welcomes Guests’, ‘Soldier Zhang Sells Knives’, ‘Lin Chong Beats Gao Huai Na’, ‘Heroes of Liangshan Rob Prisoner’, ‘Public Bao’s Shipping to the Yellow River’, ‘Wang Yuanwai Recruits’, ‘Shadow Puppets’, ‘Bronze Chamber Music and Dance’, ‘Horse Riding’, ‘Gongfu Skills’ and so on.