Qingming Shanghe Yuan
Just west of the Long Ting Gongyuan, this manufactured theme park is modeled after the famous 12th-century scroll paintingQingming Shanghe Yuan(Festival of Pure Brightness on the River) -- now hanging in the Forbidden City in Beijing -- that depicts Kaifeng at its height. The park contains reconstructed traditional restaurants, shops, and bridges, and hosts performances by dancers and musicians that re-enact Song dynasty rituals. Young women demonstrating traditional embroidery emulate skilled artisans in the imperial workshops who embroidered the emperor's robes using silk threads that were one-fifth the thickness of today's threads, and pulled by needles as thin as human hairs.
The highlight of the park for interested Western visitors is theJewish Cultural Exhibit Center (Youtai Wenhua Zhanlanguan),located in the western part of the park behind the Wang Yuanwai Jia building. The history of Jews in the city is documented in four rooms, with exhibits on early Jewish life in the city, as well as photographs of Jewish graves and synagogues that once stood in Kaifeng. If you're here when the center is closed, check with the Tourist Service Center just before the park's main entrance. The eager-to-please staff will often open up the Jewish Center for inquiring Western guests. For ¥5 (60¢) with a ¥20 ($2.50) deposit, the Tourist Service Center also provides an occasionally clumsy but nevertheless helpful audio tour of the park in English.
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| Hours | 9am-10pm; Jewish Cultural Center Fri-Mon 9-11:30am and 2:30-6pm | |
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| Address | Long Ting Xi Lu 5 | |
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| Transportation | Bus: no. 1 | |
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| Prices | Admission ¥40 ($5) | |