Millennium City Park

Millennium City Park is a theme park on Song Dynasty culture situated on the west bank of Longting Lake in Kaifeng City of Henan Province, and is also a National 5A Level Scenic Spot and an intangible cultural heritage demonstration base of China. It is a culture theme park based on “Along the River During the Qingming Festival”- a painting of a painter named Zhang Zeduan, with Yingzao Fashi as construction standard, with folk culture of Song Dynasty, folk custom, royal gardens and entertainment in ancient times as the theme, and with tourists’ participation and experience as the feature. Such a large amusement park about folk custom of Song Dynasty reproduces

It covers an area of 600 mu (about 98 acres), and the construction area is more than 30,000 square meters (about 7.4 acres). The built area consists of several architectural complexes which re-creations based on the famous twelfth century painting 'The Qingming Festival by the Riverside'. This picture is a painted scroll which is 525 cm (about 17 feet) in length and 25.5 cm (9.5 inches) in width. The scenes in this painting are highly detailed and the spectacle is magnificent. There are large numbers of people and buildings. The people are shown in a variety of contemporary clothes that indicate their social standing and occupations. The lively throng includes many animals and it is not difficult to imagine the sounds in the street scenes where the people are crowded and noisy. We can almost hear someone bargaining with a shop owner while others are cheering entertainers. The picture is like a live symphony of life during the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

The imperial garden is a famous scenic spot of the park. All the palaces and gardens have been carefully arranged. Standing inside the gardens and visible from outside, are the pavilion and the pagoda while in the distance a waterfall comes into view. Among these a majestic pavilion of 31.99 meters (about 105 feet) will draw our attention. From its appearance, you will expect it to have four floors but actually there are another three floors hidden inside. It is so tall and seems to be able to touch the clouds. This is how it got the name of Fuyun (whisking the cloud) Pavilion.

Another scenic spot called Rainbow Bridge is a well-known feature in the Park. It is a replica of one of the ten ancient timber bridges. The bridge is 5 meters (about 16 feet) high. The first bridge was built in 1050, and reconstructed in 1998. Four 9 meter (about 29 feet) high columns, two at either end of the bridge, replicate the poles that were weather vanes at the time of the Song Dynasty. A white crane sits on a disk at the top of each column and they turn to face into the wind, indicating its direction. At each end of the Rainbow Bridge you will find many performances about folk custom.

One of the distinctive things you will encounter when visiting the Park lies in participation. You can play a role in a traditional Chinese marriage and realize your dream of being a Number One Scholar in the imperial examinations of ancient times. These activities are sure to bring the past alive and add to your enjoyment and interest.

There is an opening ceremony held here every day. Opening ceremony is a routine work. It is also the most ceremonious performance in the park. At 9:00 am every day, horses stand in queues, drums beaten. While in the park you will have the opportunity to see exhibits of folk customs and traditional crafts ranging from hand embroidery and displays of woodcut pictures and official porcelain and so on. At the end of your trip, you can buy local souvenirs for your friends and family.

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