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Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden: Kaifeng’s Song Scroll, Walkable

Scenic
Sep 15, 2026
Red arched Rainbow Bridge reflected in a still canal at Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden, Kaifeng, with bare willows

Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden is a theme park, and it is worth saying so up front. It opened in Kaifeng in 1998, not in 1120. Yet it holds China’s top 5A rating, because what it rebuilds is extraordinary: the world of Along the River During the Qingming Festival, the most famous painting of a Chinese city ever made.

So this guide takes the park for what it is. It explains what the painting shows, how the tickets and the big night show work, and why the real Song city lies a few steps away, under your feet.

What the Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden Is

The park sits on the west shore of Longting Lake in Kaifeng, in Henan province. It opened on 28 October 1998 and covers more than 600 mu, about 40 hectares, of which roughly 120 mu is water (Wikipedia, 2026a). The national tourism authority approved it as a 5A scenic area in January 2011 (Sina Travel, 2011).

Its blueprint is a scroll painted by Zhang Zeduan in the Northern Song dynasty. The original is only 25.5 centimetres tall but 5.25 metres long, and it now belongs to the Palace Museum in Beijing. It shows about 814 people, 28 boats and 60 animals moving through the capital, Bianjing, which is today’s Kaifeng (Wikipedia, 2026b).

Why the Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden Is Worth a Day

The painting, at walking pace

You cannot see the real scroll on demand. The Palace Museum shows it only rarely. Here, by contrast, the scenes are life-size: the canal, the shops, the city gate and, above all, the arched Rainbow Bridge that sits at the centre of the painting. Bring a copy of the scroll on your phone and match the scenes as you go. It turns a pretty park into a detective game.

A park that performs all day

Then there are the shows. Short performances run from opening time, starting with a welcome ceremony at the gate around 9:00. Across the day you may catch puppet plays, a Song dynasty fashion parade, a Judge Bao court scene, fire-breathing and an evening embroidered-ball toss, where a “bride” throws a ball to pick a husband from the crowd (Kaifeng Bendibao, 2020). Schedules change, so photograph the board at the entrance.

The real Song capital, buried next door

Here is the part that makes the fake city meaningful. Kaifeng was the Northern Song capital from 960 to 1127, and it may have been the largest city in the world at the time. Yellow River floods then buried it again and again, so older cities lie stacked beneath the modern streets (Wikipedia, 2026c). The park rebuilds above ground what history pushed underground.

Best Time to Visit Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden

  • April and May: willows in leaf and mild evenings. April also brings peony season in nearby Luoyang.
  • September to early November: clear, comfortable days and the full evening programme.
  • Summer: hot at midday, so come late and stay for the night session.
  • Winter: quiet and photogenic, as the cover shows, but some large shows pause for the season.

Avoid the early-October Golden Week if you can. The park is one of Henan’s busiest attractions, and the canal paths jam. Our guide to the best time to visit China lists other holiday peaks.

How to Get to Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden

From Zhengzhou by train

Most visitors come via Zhengzhou, the provincial rail hub. Intercity trains from Zhengzhou East reach Kaifeng North in roughly 25 minutes, so a day trip is easy. Zhengzhou’s Xinzheng airport is also the nearest international gateway. Our guide to getting around China covers booking trains with a foreign passport.

From Kaifeng North to the park

Kaifeng North station lies about 11 kilometres from the park. A taxi or ride-hailing car is the simplest option and takes around half an hour. City buses also run, but they are slow. The park’s address is No. 5 Longting West Road, Longting District, so save it in Chinese: 开封市龙亭区龙亭西路5号.

Tickets, Hours and the Night Show

  • Day ticket: 120 CNY. Half price, 60 CNY, for ages 6 to 18, full-time students up to undergraduate level and visitors over 60 with ID.
  • Night ticket: 80 CNY, with entry from 17:30. It covers a set evening area and does not include the big water show.
  • Hours: generally 9:00 to 21:00, with later closing on some holidays.
  • Booking: the park’s official WeChat account; tickets are date-specific, and entry works with your ID or the booking code (Kaifeng Bendibao, 2020).

Prices have held at these levels for several years, but check before you pay. Foreign visitors should book with a passport number and bring the same passport. For booking apps in general, see our notes on booking China attractions.

Da Song · Dongjing Menghua

The headline show is Da Song · Dongjing Menghua, roughly “Dream of the Song Capital”. It is staged on the water, runs 70 minutes, and uses more than 700 performers; it premiered in 2008 (Wikipedia, 2026a). Seats are sold separately and cost far more than the park ticket, with prices set by zone. It usually runs in the warmer months, so check dates before building a trip around it.

Must-See Spots Inside and Around the Park

  • The Rainbow Bridge: the red arched bridge from the scroll’s centre. Cross it, then shoot it from the bank for the reflection.
  • The canal and boats: the painting’s river scenes, with moored wooden boats along the banks.
  • The market streets: craft stalls, snacks and costumed staff. It is touristy, of course, but done with care.
  • Longting Park: just east, across the lake, on the site of the old imperial palace area.
  • The Iron Pagoda: built in 1049 and 54.7 metres tall, it is Kaifeng’s oldest surviving building (Wikipedia, 2026c). This one is not a reconstruction.

What to Eat in Kaifeng

Kaifeng eats well, and cheaply. The famous dish is guantang baozi, soup-filled buns. Bite a small hole, sip the broth, then eat the rest; otherwise the soup ends up on your shirt. Five-spice breads and roast mutton skewers are the other staples.

After the park closes, the city’s night market streets take over. Expect stuffed flatbreads, peanut cakes and sweet almond tea, all good for grazing. Our guide to China street food helps you order with confidence.

Practical Tips

  • Carry your passport. You need it for trains, tickets and hotels.
  • Pay by phone. Stalls inside the park prefer mobile payment. Our guide to how to pay in China covers setup.
  • Screenshot the scroll. Matching scenes is the best way to enjoy the park.
  • Expect little English. Show commentary is in Chinese, although most shows are visual.
  • Consider sleeping in Kaifeng. The night session and the night market are the best parts.

Common Mistakes at Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden

  • Expecting ruins. It is a reconstruction, so enjoy it on those terms.
  • Buying a night ticket for the big show. The water show needs its own ticket.
  • Arriving at 16:00. You miss most day performances. Come by late morning.
  • Skipping the real city. The Iron Pagoda and Longting deserve an hour.
  • Visiting in Golden Week. Crowds make the canal paths slow going.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should I spend at the Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden?

Four to five hours for the day programme. Add the evening if you want the night session or the water show.

Is it a real ancient site?

No. It opened in 1998 and recreates a 12th-century painting. Kaifeng’s genuine Song remains lie nearby and underground.

Can I visit from Zhengzhou in a day?

Yes. The intercity train takes about 25 minutes, then a taxi to the park.

Does the ticket include the water show?

No. Da Song · Dongjing Menghua is ticketed separately, and the night park ticket excludes it too.

Is the original painting in Kaifeng?

No. Zhang Zeduan’s scroll belongs to the Palace Museum in Beijing and goes on display only occasionally.

A City Painted, Then Rebuilt

The honest pitch is this. The park is a copy, but a copy of something the floods destroyed and a painter saved. Walk it with the scroll in hand, stay for the evening, then go and stand under the Iron Pagoda, which really did see the Song.

For the wider trip, pair Kaifeng with the Longmen Grottoes and Shaolin, or start with our Henan travel guide.

References