Brief Introduction to Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden (Millennium City Park), Kaifeng

Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden is a national 5A-level scenic spot and national cultural industry demonstration base, located at No.5 West Longting Road, Longting District, Kaifeng, Henan Province, China, an ancient capital with eight dynasties’ history.

Constructed in accordance with the world-famous Northern Song painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival by Zhang Zeduan, the park is a large-scale Song Dynasty cultural theme park built at a 1:1 real-life scale. Construction began in 1992, and it officially opened to visitors on October 28, 1998. Covering an area of over 600 mu (40 hectares), including 180 mu of water surface, it boasts more than 400 Song-style ancient buildings and over 40 antique bridges, forming the largest Song architectural complex in the Central Plains region.

The park is divided into the South Garden and the North Garden. The South Garden vividly recreates the bustling folk streets along the Bian River in the Northern Song Dynasty, featuring ancient shops, teahouses, docks and traditional folk crafts, fully presenting ordinary people’s daily life. The North Garden restores imperial palaces and royal gardens, showcasing royal ceremonies and noble entertainments of the Song court. Its third-phase project, Grand Song Royal Paradise, offers traditional ancient amusement facilities for visitors of all ages.

Over 100 live folk performances are staged here every day, including the famous horse battle show Yue Fei Challenges Young Prince Liang, traditional street acrobatics, Song-style wedding rituals and canal transportation dramas. The blockbuster night water show Grand Song: Dream of Bianjing is the park’s highlight. Lasting 70 minutes, it combines classic Song ci poems, stunning light effects and floating stages, bringing the glorious prosperity of the Northern Song Dynasty to life.

With the core slogan “Step into a thousand-year scroll in one day, travel back to the Song Dynasty”, the park provides an immersive ancient experience. Tourists can rent traditional Song costumes, walk through iconic landmarks from the painting such as Rainbow Bridge and Shangshan Gate, and taste authentic ancient-style snacks. It is a top cultural tourism destination for visitors to experience the history, customs and brilliant civilization of the Northern Song capital Bianjing (ancient Kaifeng).