Qifeng Guyuan Cultural Park 启封故园

About Qifeng Guyuan Cultural Park

The town it stands in is genuinely old. Zhuxian lies 22 kilometres south of Kaifeng and was founded in the early Warring States period under the name Juxian, taking its present name from Zhu Hai, whose fief it was. The opening of the Jialu River in the late Ming made it the only water-and-land transshipment port serving Kaifeng and the outer harbour of the provincial capital, and at its height it was counted alongside Foshan, Jingdezhen and Hankou as one of China's four great towns. It was also a military gateway to Kaifeng, and Yue Fei's victory over Jin forces was fought here. The town was designated a Chinese Historic and Cultural Town in December 2008, and its woodblock New Year prints were in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage.

The park is a new construction that draws on that history rather than a surviving quarter of it; the three nationally protected monuments in the town, the Yue Fei Temple, the mosque and the site of the ancient city of Qifeng, lie outside it. Planned at about 5,300 mu in eight functional zones, it has been open since October 2016 with roughly 800 mu in use, of which more than 300 mu is water. The built areas are arranged as themed streets: a canal-transport wharf with granaries and a qianzong office, Xiabahang street for intangible crafts, Kuixing street for food, Jiqing street for weddings and Zhuangyuan street on the imperial examination system, together with Juxian Lake and the Qixingdao amusement ground.

What to look for

• The canal-transport street around the reconstructed wharf, with granaries and a qianzong office recalling the town's role as Kaifeng's river port.
• Zhuangyuan street, built around the theme of the imperial examination system.
• Xiabahang street, laid out for intangible-heritage crafts.
• The small private museums on site, covering coins, Bian embroidery, Guan ware ceramics and ironworking.
• Juxian Lake and the water landscape, which accounts for more than 300 of the 800 mu currently open.
• The arena for mounted combat performances, added in 2021.

Location & getting there

Getting to Qifeng Guyuan Cultural Park

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