Millennium City Park(Qingming Shanghe)

Millennium City Park is located by the Longting Lake in Kaifeng, a large-scale historical and cultural theme park that faithfully recreates the Northern Song Dynasty's capital based on the famous painting "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" by artist Zhang Zeduan, following the original layout at a 1:1 scale. The park is divided into two sections by the Shuangting Bridge: the southern area recreates the bustling urban life of Bianjing, with taverns, teahouses, pawnshops, and artisan workshops lining the streets, where peddlers with shoulder poles and shouting shop assistants move about; while the northern area features imperial gardens, with lakeside halls and quadrangular courtyards standing by the water. Staff and vendors throughout the park wear Song-style attire, accompanied by ancient music and the rhythmic sounds of bells and drums, creating the illusion of "stepping into a painting and traveling back a thousand years in a single day."

The architecture here offers visually striking highlights: the Rainbow Bridge spanning the Bian River replicates the famous bridge from ancient paintings, arching like a rainbow—watching grain barges pass beneath recreates the painting's ambiance. Fuyun Pavilion towers above all other structures with its crimson facade and golden-roofed eaves, offering panoramic garden views. The reconstructed Shangshan Gate mirrors Kaifeng's Northern Song dynasty city gates, standing majestic with resplendent paintings as the garden's most imposing structure. Waterside pavilions like Shuixin Xie, Double Pavilion Bridge, and Nine Dragons Bridge dot the emerald waters in picturesque harmony.

The daytime highlight is the scattered live performances throughout the park: "Judge Bao inspecting the Bian River grain transport" unfolds on the water by Rainbow Bridge, "Squire Wang's daughter seeking a husband" brings the embroidered ball tossing matchmaking to the streets, and "Yue Fei unhorsing Prince Xiao Liang" stirs up dust with galloping hooves in the drill ground. Folk performances like cockfighting, stilt walking, cuju (ancient football), and pan drumming are interspersed throughout. Families with children can visit Fun Garden and Great Song Games to try archery, dart throwing, rope climbing, and hoop diving—experiencing every Song dynasty game from a thousand years ago—or dress in period costumes at Square Courtyard to take mock imperial exams. Street-side workshops showcase folk crafts like Bian embroidery, Zhuxian Town woodblock prints, official kiln porcelain, and dough figurines, where visitors can watch artisans at work.

The park takes on a different face after nightfall: red lanterns light up one after another, and the streets are ablaze with lights, making it seem like a completely different place from daytime. The large-scale water show "Northern Song Dynasty: Splendid Dreams of Dongjing" is performed on Jinglong Lake. The entire show is connected by eight classic Song Dynasty poems and a scroll of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival," transporting the audience back to Dongjing of the Northern Song Dynasty a thousand years ago. The performance lasts approx. 70 minutes, and many travelers specifically reserve their itinerary for the evening to wait for this show. After the performance, you might as well climb the Shangshan Gate tower to overlook the park scenery and the night view of Kaifeng under the lights.

Dining in the park is also convenient: the snack street and night market around the Dongjing food area gather Kaifeng snacks like soup dumplings and mutton pancake, perfect for eating while strolling; for a proper sit-down meal, head to Sunyang Restaurant, a recreation of the "main shop" depicted in paintings, and try traditional Henan dishes such as soup dumplings and carp with noodles.