开封市

Why this place

Kaifeng was the capital of the Northern Song, and in the eleventh century it was probably the largest city on earth, with over a million people. The Yellow River has buried the old city under silt several times over, so the Song city is under the modern one — but the mood of the place, its night markets and its lakes are still recognisably that of a water city.

What to see

• The Iron Pagoda, a 55-metre brick-and-tile pagoda from 1049 that has survived floods and earthquakes
• The Dragon Pavilion and the Song city lakes, on the site of the imperial palace
• The night market at Gulou, one of the oldest and best street-food markets in China
• The Xiangguo Temple, once the largest Buddhist monastery in the country
• Millennium City Park, a large reconstruction of Song Kaifeng, popular with Chinese visitors

What to eat

• Soup dumplings (guantang baozi) — Kaifeng's classic, eaten for breakfast
• Almond tea, fried liangfen and the whole Gulou night-market repertoire
• Fried jelly and spiced beef, sold by families who have done it for generations

Best time

April–May and September–October; the night markets are at their best in autumn