Henan*

Brief History of Kaifeng

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Early records refer to Kaifeng as Daliang, established in the state of Wei at around 364 BCE. A walled Imperial District (or Cheng) was built and then soon-after destroyed by the abrupt and brutal arrival of the Qin Dynasty. Only the Shi (or marketplace) remained intact. It wasn't until the 700's when once again Kaifeng was reborn and the Imperial District was rebuilt.
The Imperial District of Kaifeng was revitalized when Kaifeng was connected to the Grand Canal in 781 CE. Kaifeng was already connected to other main canals by then as well making this a wonderful chapter in the history of this intriguing little corner of China, the Imperial District of Kaifeng.
The Tang Dynasty took power and built another incarnation of Kaifeng (which was called Bian in this chapter of history). This is where the Kaifeng Imperial District blooms into a high point in her history. Kaifeng was capital for most of the Five Dynasties period which meant that the Imperial District was added to and rebuilt. It is said that this was a renaissance period for the Imperial District of Kaifeng. It also was a period where the beginning of a tremendous reputation for printing occurred, much of this occurred within the safer walled Imperial District of Kaifeng.
During the Song Dynasty, Kaifeng was prosperous, this continued until the early 1100's when Kaifeng -including a vast majority of the Imperial District- was once again destroyed by war. One surviving landmark -built in the Song Dynasty- is the Iron Pagoda (or Po Tower), a magnificent brick pagoda intricately detailed. Located in the NE corner of the Cheng (walled administrative Imperial district), it is part of the Youguo Temple. This structure was built in 1049 to replace a wooden Pagoda that had burned down in a lightning fire five years previously. The original wooden pagoda was reported to be 120 meters in height, compared to the height of the current Iron Pagoda of just under 57 meters.
Sources:
Mote, F. W. Imperial China 900-1800. Harvard University Press, 2003
Shaughnessy, Edward L. China: Empire and Civilization. Oxford University Press USA, 2005
Wilkinson, Endymion. Chinese History: A Manual. Harvard University Asia Center, 2000
New World Encyclopedia-Henan
Cultural China
wikipedia-Kaifeng
Britannica Online Encyclopedia-Kaifeng
Main image is from wikicommons, and is in the public domain.
Ziyi will be who you contact if you want to participate with devel on Kaifeng.
The Wikipedia take on this seems to be on point. Kaifeng Wiki

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