Getting Around Kaifeng
Kaifeng is a compact, flat city, and most of its famous sights sit inside or close to the old walled core. That makes getting around fairly simple: you can walk a good deal of the historic centre, and fill in the gaps with cheap local buses, taxis, or the little motorised rickshaws the locals call "bengbeng".
Arriving by Train
Kaifeng is served by three rail stations, and which one you use shapes how you reach the city centre.
- Kaifeng Station sits on the Shanghai–Xi'an line and is the most convenient for the old city. Hard-seat tickets can be hard to come by, but hard-sleeper tickets are often available at short notice outside peak periods. The trip from Zhengzhou takes around 45 minutes.
- Songcheng Lu Station is the terminus for the dedicated high-speed connection to Zhengzhou East, which continues on to Xinzheng Airport and runs roughly every 90 minutes. It lies some distance west of the old city, so you will need a bus or taxi to finish the journey into town.
- Kaifeng North Station handles long-distance high-speed trains on the Lanzhou–Xuzhou line.
Arriving by Long-Distance Bus
There are buses into Kaifeng from elsewhere in Henan, including from the long-distance bus stations in Zhengzhou and Luoyang, as well as long-distance services from major cities such as Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. The main terminal, Kaifeng Central Bus Station, is conveniently located near Kaifeng Station.
Getting In from the Airport
The nearest airport is Zhengzhou Xinzheng Airport. You have a few practical options for the onward trip to Kaifeng:
- Taxi — the simplest door-to-door choice, taking roughly an hour.
- High-speed train — the rail connection from the airport continues to Kaifeng, and is the cheapest of the direct options.
- Shuttle bus plus local bus — take the shuttle from just outside the arrivals gate to the Civil Aviation Hotel on Jinshui Road, walk east for around 20 minutes to the Deyi Bus Station mini bus terminal, and pick up a bus from there to near Kaifeng Railway Station.
Local Buses
Local buses reach essentially everywhere within the city and are very cheap. Bus 20 is the sightseeing route, looping past all the major sights — a handy choice if you want to cover the highlights without planning each leg yourself. If you arrive at the train station, there is a bus stop at the corner of the car park in front of it, where buses 9 and 1 will carry you into town.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
Taxis are plentiful and inexpensive, which makes them a good fallback for longer hops or when you are carrying bags. Fares start at a low flagfall that includes the first couple of kilometres, with a per-kilometre charge beyond that. Ride-hailing apps work in Kaifeng as they do elsewhere in China, and are a useful way to avoid any language barrier when telling a driver where you want to go.
Rickshaws and "Bengbeng"
One of the nicest ways to see Kaifeng is by the motorised rickshaw known locally as a "bengbeng" — essentially a tuktuk. They are ideal for short hops around the old city and for the run between the train station and Henan University's old campus, which covers much of the length of the city. Short trips cost only a few yuan, so they are an easy, characterful option for sightseeing at a relaxed pace.
Walking
Because the historic sights cluster together and the terrain is flat, walking is a genuinely practical way to cover the old city. Pair it with a bengbeng or a taxi for the longer legs — for example, out to Songcheng Lu Station or across to the university — and you can see Kaifeng comfortably without ever needing a car.