Kaifeng
Apr 30th, 2004, 05:40 PM
#1
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Kaifeng
Has anyone had experience going to Kaifeng? Any hotel suggestions? Is it better to stay in Kaifeng, or to stay in Zhengzhou and to hire a taxi for a day trip to Kaifeng? Thank you.
May 1st, 2004, 07:47 AM
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Any hotel suggestions for Kaifeng? I assume we can get off the train from Xi'an in Kaifeng proper (no need to get off in Zhengzhou) -- but will we also be able to get an express train to Shanghai out of Kaifeng? Thanks.
May 1st, 2004, 01:02 PM
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Sorry, don't know about hotels there. Haven't been to there for a while, and can't remember where we stayed last time.
There are at least 3 AC'ed overnight fast trains that go from Kaifeng to Shanghai, and takes about 12 hours.
K284/281 19:07-7:08
K292/289 17:23-5:01
K378/375 20:14-8:26
Plus at least 4 other slightly slower or non-AC'ed trains.
From Zhengzhou, there are 3 other express trains that takes about 10 hours to Shanghai that don't stop at Kaifeng. All of those pass through Zhengzhou/Kaifeng in the middle of the night.
There are at least 3 AC'ed overnight fast trains that go from Kaifeng to Shanghai, and takes about 12 hours.
K284/281 19:07-7:08
K292/289 17:23-5:01
K378/375 20:14-8:26
Plus at least 4 other slightly slower or non-AC'ed trains.
From Zhengzhou, there are 3 other express trains that takes about 10 hours to Shanghai that don't stop at Kaifeng. All of those pass through Zhengzhou/Kaifeng in the middle of the night.
May 2nd, 2004, 12:50 PM
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We were in Kaifeng April 21 - 24. We came by hard seat train from Luoyang although we had gone from Xi'an to Luoyang by soft seat a few days earlier. Great experience. We tried to purchase sleeper tickets from Kaifeng to Qingdao without success. Perhaps we needed to depart from Zhengzhou. At any rate, we took a car for Y200 from Kaifeng back to Zhengzhou and flew to Qingdao, booking both through the CITS office.
Not by choice, we stayed at three different hotels for the three nights in Kaifeng. We attempted to make our accomodation arrangements after arrival in Kaifeng - BIG mistake. At the second hotel attempt - Tian Zhong, and with husband complaining about schlepping our two bags, the kind clerk called perhaps as many as six hotels, all fully booked. Finally she gave us a tiny, smoke filled and un-air conditioned, noisy room with only a single twin bed, Y198, forgettable breakfast included. A pretty miserable night. I cannot recommend this hotel under any circumstances as the entire place reeked of smoke. Our second night was at the very nice Yu Xiang Dajudian, Y318, breakfast Y10. Most guests were Asian tour groups. Great air conditioner, spacious room, no smell of smoke. This hotel would be our choice and based on our experience, I recommend booking ahead. Our third night was at the funky Kaifeng Hotel, formerly known as the Kaifeng Guest House, Y275, breakfast included. Great looking buildings around a courtyard, nice embroidery shop on the premises. Room was truly grimy, although sheets were clean and the AC worked. No smoky smell. A hotel defintely past its prime.
All three are near the fabulous night market. We ate very well for just a few yuan. Quart of beer - Y2 or $.25 US. We also enjoyed a yummy meal at a restaurant next to the Yu Xiang Dajudian. No English menu but used the point method as well as our Chinese restaurant menus from home.
If you take a train to Kaifeng, note that the station seems to be undergoing rennovation. Exited the station through alleys and had no idea where we were going. Eventually found the ticket windows in a temporary building. Two windows open with chaotic crowds, line crashers, pushing and shoving, etc. Very nice clerk though who kept her cool when we finally made our way to a window. Quite an experience.
Not by choice, we stayed at three different hotels for the three nights in Kaifeng. We attempted to make our accomodation arrangements after arrival in Kaifeng - BIG mistake. At the second hotel attempt - Tian Zhong, and with husband complaining about schlepping our two bags, the kind clerk called perhaps as many as six hotels, all fully booked. Finally she gave us a tiny, smoke filled and un-air conditioned, noisy room with only a single twin bed, Y198, forgettable breakfast included. A pretty miserable night. I cannot recommend this hotel under any circumstances as the entire place reeked of smoke. Our second night was at the very nice Yu Xiang Dajudian, Y318, breakfast Y10. Most guests were Asian tour groups. Great air conditioner, spacious room, no smell of smoke. This hotel would be our choice and based on our experience, I recommend booking ahead. Our third night was at the funky Kaifeng Hotel, formerly known as the Kaifeng Guest House, Y275, breakfast included. Great looking buildings around a courtyard, nice embroidery shop on the premises. Room was truly grimy, although sheets were clean and the AC worked. No smoky smell. A hotel defintely past its prime.
All three are near the fabulous night market. We ate very well for just a few yuan. Quart of beer - Y2 or $.25 US. We also enjoyed a yummy meal at a restaurant next to the Yu Xiang Dajudian. No English menu but used the point method as well as our Chinese restaurant menus from home.
If you take a train to Kaifeng, note that the station seems to be undergoing rennovation. Exited the station through alleys and had no idea where we were going. Eventually found the ticket windows in a temporary building. Two windows open with chaotic crowds, line crashers, pushing and shoving, etc. Very nice clerk though who kept her cool when we finally made our way to a window. Quite an experience.
May 2nd, 2004, 06:48 PM
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Is the hotel you're suggesting also known simply as the "Yuxiang Hotel," at #1 Nantu Street? That's the closest I've found by searching the Net. Also, I've found a place that seems to look good, called the "Dongjing" -- Did you happen to see it when you were in Kaifeng? If hotel rooms are that tight, I'm seriously thinking that we might want to stay in Zhengzhou, and hire a taxi to Kaifeng for the day. Any idea what that might cost? Would also be interested in any other impressions of Kiafeng, too. Thanks a lot.
May 3rd, 2004, 06:30 AM
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To rkkwan: Thanks for the detailed train information. Do you know if any of these overnights from Zhengzhou or Kaifang to Shanghai stop at Suzhou on the way? We've decided we'd like to go there for a few days before going to Shanghai. Thanks again.
May 3rd, 2004, 06:32 AM
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Same hotel. One thing I learned in China is that proper nouns may be separated or run together, as in this example.
We paid Y200 for a taxi from Kaifeng to Zhengzhou airport, which is some distance east of the city. Travel time was 1.5 hours. Train from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng was only about an hour and we met the most delightful people on the train.
Perhaps our difficulty booking at the Yu Xiang might be attributed to the proximity to the May 1st holiday or because the second day after our one night stay must have been an auspicious day for weddings because we saw them all over town. Three at the Kaifeng Hotel before we left at 11 am. And the hotel seems extremely popular with tour groups. I can only speak from my limited experience, but I highly recommend staying at least one night in Kaifeng, however you decide to book. For us, Y318 was within our budget. The nearby night market was a highlight of our trip. We happily eat from street vendors - during our 24 day trip, we experienced no tummy upsets. In fact, the worst digestive upset we have ever experienced while traveling in Asia followed a meal at the Jakarta Hard Rock Cafe. Street food, carefully chosen, is prepared right before your eyes, and eaten while fresh.
Sights we enjoyed in Kaifeng were the Iron Pagoda, the Buddhist temple Da Xiangguo Si where we were treated to a delightful concert by young monks, and the Yanging Taoist Temple, full of Mongolian (?) worshippers. The Dragon Pavillion park was pretty and quiet. The Qingming Shanghe Yuan Riverside Theme Park was a disappointment - large but absolutely nothing was happening. Sad animals in small cages and a Basset hound chained in a small pen. A game of throwing hoops over tiny cages holding live rabbits and guinea pigs. To win one? Perhaps we were there at the wrong time.
We did not do much shopping but did find an embroidery shop in the Kaifeng Hotel.
We paid Y200 for a taxi from Kaifeng to Zhengzhou airport, which is some distance east of the city. Travel time was 1.5 hours. Train from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng was only about an hour and we met the most delightful people on the train.
Perhaps our difficulty booking at the Yu Xiang might be attributed to the proximity to the May 1st holiday or because the second day after our one night stay must have been an auspicious day for weddings because we saw them all over town. Three at the Kaifeng Hotel before we left at 11 am. And the hotel seems extremely popular with tour groups. I can only speak from my limited experience, but I highly recommend staying at least one night in Kaifeng, however you decide to book. For us, Y318 was within our budget. The nearby night market was a highlight of our trip. We happily eat from street vendors - during our 24 day trip, we experienced no tummy upsets. In fact, the worst digestive upset we have ever experienced while traveling in Asia followed a meal at the Jakarta Hard Rock Cafe. Street food, carefully chosen, is prepared right before your eyes, and eaten while fresh.
Sights we enjoyed in Kaifeng were the Iron Pagoda, the Buddhist temple Da Xiangguo Si where we were treated to a delightful concert by young monks, and the Yanging Taoist Temple, full of Mongolian (?) worshippers. The Dragon Pavillion park was pretty and quiet. The Qingming Shanghe Yuan Riverside Theme Park was a disappointment - large but absolutely nothing was happening. Sad animals in small cages and a Basset hound chained in a small pen. A game of throwing hoops over tiny cages holding live rabbits and guinea pigs. To win one? Perhaps we were there at the wrong time.
We did not do much shopping but did find an embroidery shop in the Kaifeng Hotel.
May 3rd, 2004, 06:35 AM
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Ooops, somehow my post went up before I finished.
The Dongjing Dafandian - I don't think I saw it so I can't comment except to say that I think we would have preferred to stay near the night market. Oh yes, it was one of the places the Tian Zhong called for us the day we arrived and it was fully booked for that night, despite having 200 rooms.
The Dongjing Dafandian - I don't think I saw it so I can't comment except to say that I think we would have preferred to stay near the night market. Oh yes, it was one of the places the Tian Zhong called for us the day we arrived and it was fully booked for that night, despite having 200 rooms.
May 3rd, 2004, 10:48 AM
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Ed - All of the express trains from Zhengzhou/Kaifeng to Shanghai will stop at Suzhou (which is only 45 minutes from Shanghai), plus all the major cities in Jianshu Province - Nanjing, Zhongzhou and Wuxi.
