Saturday Zohar and I tried to walk the walls of Kaifeng. Have I introduced Zohar? Marta, one of the young teachers from Beloit College, is plugged into the couch surfer network (http://www.couchsurfing.org). Zohar from Israel was traveling through China and stayed with her. Since I have a guest bedroom I offered it to him for a night. He continued to Xi'an & points beyond and later returned to Kaifeng. He's now a student at Henan University studying Chinese. You can check out his blog at http://milchblog.blogspot.com
Initially we went to the North Gate but access was blocked.
We hiked the old canal down to the Dragon Pavilion where we found a path up to the old wall. We hiked south for some distance. Sometimes it was wooded path, sometimes garbage strewn areas with signs of homeless camps. There is a small museum at the West Gate requiring a 10 yuan admission.
This being Kaifeng, the emphasis is on food—of course!
At one point we tiptoed across a short span about half a meter wide with a 10 meter drop on each side—definitely scary. The south wall was in good shape with a wide rampart but when we reached the South Gate our journey was over. We couldn't get back onto the wall and since it was getting late we took a taxi back to campus. We'd walked about 8 kilometers over 5 hours.
From what I gather tourism is one of Kaifeng's most important industries. Almost all the visitors are Chinese, who are familiar with Kaifeng's history as an imperial capital and its famous sites. The city government is apparently engaging in some wall restoration. We passed through a construction zone where workers are refurbishing and shoring up the old structure. There is also a plan to dredge the canal to allow for boat rides from the Lord Bao Temple in the Southwest to the Dragon Pavilion and on to the Iron Pagoda on the north side of campus. If the city does these things it will go a long way to luring more tourists and maybe some Westerners which would be a big economic boost. Below, boats filled with holiday crowds on the lakes around the Dragon Pavilion.
Sunday Z and I went to the Kaifeng Museum.
We signed the register to the usual celebrity fanfare.
There I saw three Western guys and could tell from their accents that they were Americans. They were visiting from Qingdao where they are teaching. Hector is making a video log of his China experience. You can hit his blog at http://chicanohek.blogspot.com. Scott is Jewish and was excited at the prospect of learning a bit more about this aspect of Kaifeng history so Z arranged a visit to our friend Guo Yan's home (see my March 8 entry).
(L to R) front: Hector, Guo Yan, her grandmother and husband / back: Paul and Scott
Hector wrote me subsequently, "We had such a wonderful time in Kaifeng! I am seriously thinking about going there for a summer gig or simply to soak up the Kaifengness of the place."
It's always nice when people appreciate your home town, even your temporary adopted one.
yes, it was definitely nice meeting these guys. Walking the wall was also fun, and a bit scary as you wrote. thanks for the idea and invitation!
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