3．风吹浪打淘古迹

开封建城已经有2000多年的历史，市内文物古迹众多，例如铁塔、相国寺、繁塔、禹王台、龙亭等，虽然都基本保持了历史原来的风貌，但大都是后来重建的。

开封城多次被黄河水淹没，原来的皇宫王府和开封府衙所在地已经沦为湖泊。但为什么旧开封城只有这两处变成了湖泊呢？这是因为这两个地方围墙比较坚固，当发生水灾时黄河水冲入开封城内，大多数的建筑都被大水冲毁，黄河水携带着的泥沙就把开封城的街道和房屋掩埋了。只有皇宫和开封府衙因为围墙坚固，洪水一时无法将围墙冲倒，等到后来水势渐渐平缓之后，泥沙便在城墙外淤积下来，皇宫和府衙内因为没有过多的泥沙淤积，地势就变得相对比较低。随着一次次的黄河水患，这里就变成了湖泊。在皇宫附近的湖被叫做杨家湖和潘家湖，在开封府衙附近的被叫做包公湖。

龙亭　北宋的都城汴京位于今开封城的西北部，当时极为繁盛，皇家宫殿十分宏伟。后来，经过多次战乱、水患，宏伟的宫室已经不复存在，现在，皇宫遗址上只留下了这座清代所建的龙亭。龙亭坐北朝南，高踞在台基之上。台阶中间是雕有云龙图案的石阶，石阶上有隐约可见的马蹄印，相传是宋朝开国皇帝赵匡胤骑马登上龙亭时留下的。登上平台，四周有石栏围绕。大殿是木结构，重檐歇山式建筑。顶部全部覆以黄色琉璃瓦，颇具皇族威仪，十分壮观。游人登上平台，可以在石栏前眺望遥遥对应的铁塔以及整个开封古城的景色。龙亭前有一条笔直的大道，道旁有东西两湖，东边的是潘家湖，西边的杨家湖。传说，东湖为宋朝太师潘仁美的府第，他是陷害忠良的奸臣，所以潘家湖里的水是浑的；西湖为宋朝名将杨业的府第，他是舍身救国的忠臣，杨家湖里的水是清的。但这个说法并没有科学根据，只是反映了人们对忠奸的态度。

龙亭公园主要建筑有午门、玉带桥、朝门、照壁、朝房、龙亭、北宋皇宫宸拱门遗址、碑亭、北门及东门等，还有大型宋代蜡像馆，人物形象生动，栩栩如生。

铁塔　铁塔位于开封市东北角，建于北宋时期，原来是一座木塔，13层，因为建在开宝寺内，所以又叫做开宝寺塔。后来，这座木塔被雷电击毁，北宋统治者在1049年重新建造时，用褐色的琉璃砖瓦砌成塔身，从远处看就像是用铁铸成的，所以就叫做铁塔。铁塔平面是八角形状，塔座和座下的八棱方池在清朝时被大水淤埋在了地下。塔外壁上镶嵌的琉璃砖雕刻有50多种图案花纹，做工十分细腻，所刻的事物栩栩如生，是宋代雕刻艺术的精品。另外，这座塔有良好的防震体系，在经历了无数的地震、水灾之后，屹然矗立。相传，最初建造的铁塔是向西北倾斜15°的，因为宋朝的建筑师们考虑到开封是泥沙土质，地势会在若干年后发生改变。如今的铁塔的确已经开始向东南方向倾斜了。

相国寺　相国寺在开封历史上是一座很有名的寺院，也是中国著名的寺院之一。这座寺院最初是魏国信陵君的私人住宅，南北朝时期，北齐在这里建造寺庙，名字叫做建国寺，后来这座寺被战火摧毁。唐朝年间重新修建，开始时仍叫建国寺，后来才改为“大相国寺”，习惯上称作相国寺。相国寺内的建筑高大宏伟，壁画、塑像等都精美绝伦，十分精致。现在大相国寺的主要建筑有天王殿、大雄宝殿、八角琉璃殿、藏经楼等，在八角殿里有一座千手千眼观音像，高7米，是用一棵巨大的白果树木雕刻而成，雕工精细，是佛教文化艺术和雕刻艺术的精品。寺内还有钟楼、鼓楼等建筑，钟楼中还保存着一口清代所铸的大钟，高约4米，重1万多斤。游客们来到相国寺不仅可以参观其建筑遗迹，还可以祈求平安和幸福。

繁塔　繁塔位于开封外城的东南部，又叫做兴慈塔，因为建在繁台上所以俗称繁塔。它建于北宋初年，高9层。这座塔在明朝初年被摧毁，只剩下了3层。后来人们在修整的平顶上加建了6层的小塔，造型非常独特。繁塔为平面六角形的砖塔，其中顶部小塔的高度在7米左右，从远处看上去就像一棵粗大的树枝上又嫁接了一个新的嫩芽。塔檐下面是仿木结构的的雕刻斗拱。在它的外壁上镶嵌着各种形态的几十种佛像雕砖，具有宋代砖雕艺术特色。

延庆观　延庆观是中国著名的道观之一，它最初的名字叫做重阳观，是为纪念中国道教全真派创始人王重阳而建造的。重阳观在金代末期已经十分破败，明朝初年恢复重建，并更名为延庆观，这一名称也一直沿用至今。后来开封多次被黄河水淹没，延庆观的大部分建筑被淹没毁坏，现存的仅剩下玉皇阁。玉皇阁用青砖砌成，底座呈四方形，分为3层，是汉族和蒙古族文化交融的结晶，结构精巧独特。阁内没有楼梯可以攀登，里面放有一尊白玉雕刻的玉皇大帝坐像。

另外，开封的小吃也颇具特色，如小笼灌汤包子、桶子鸡、黄焖鱼、花生糕等等，其中的小笼灌汤包子，是由北宋时期有名的“山洞梅花包子”演变而来，至今已有近千年的历史，以小巧玲珑、皮薄馅多、灌汤流油、鲜香利口而驰名。种种美食吸引着大量的中外游客驻足流连。

3. Historical Relics

With a history of more than two thousand years, Kaifeng is sure to boast numerous historical relics. However, having gone through so many wars and natural disasters, most of them are rebuilt ones based on the original.

Kaifeng was flooded by the Yellow River several times in history and the places where the Imperial Palace and the Kaifeng local government used to be have changed into lakes long before. How does that come? When the overflowing Yellow River made its way to the city, it washed away all the buildings except the firm city walls of the Imperial Palace and the walls surrounding the government office. Later when the floods abated, mud and sand silted up along the wall, making the inside of the Imperial Palace and the local government much lower than the outside. Thus by and by, those palaces changed into the Yangjia Lake and the Panjia Lake where the Imperial Palace used to stand as well as the Bao Gong Lake around where the feudal local government used to be.

Dragon Pavilion

Northwest of today's Kaifeng there used to stand the capital city of the Northern Song dynasty-Bianjing. Magnificent as the imperial palaces were; wars and floods reduced all of them to ground, only leaving the Dragon Pavilion to tell the stories of past times. Standing high on a platform and facing south, the pavilion was built in the Qing dynasty. A set of stone stair carved with clouds and dragon leads to the top. On the stair, there are horse hoofprints which are said to be left when the first emperor of the Song dynasty Zhao Kuangyin climbed onto the pavilion on a horse. The pavilion is of a wood structure and has a double nine-ridged roof decorated by golden glazed tiles which reflect the impressive and dignified manners of the royal family. Standing on the platform of the pavilion, tourists could overlook the Iron Tower that stands just opposite and the whole old Kaifeng city. In front of the Dragon Pavilion, there lies a straight road, on the two sides of which are the Yangjia Lake and the Panjia Lake respectively. Legend goes that since the Panjia Lake is where the mansion of the wicked official Pan Renmei used to be, the water of the lake is muddy; while the water of Yangjia Lake is always clean for it is where the mansion of the loyal Yang family was.

Iron Pagoda

Situated at the northeast corner of Kaifeng, the Iron Pogoda was originally a thirteen-storied wooden tower built in Northern Song. It was also called Kaibao Temple Pagoda for it was built in the Kaibao Temple. Later, the pagoda was struck down by lightening. In 1049 the ruler of Northern Song ordered to rebuild it and cover its body with brown glazed tiles. Thus the pagoda got its present name "Iron Pagoda" for it seemed to be built with iron when looked at from a distance. The pagoda takes on an octagonal shape. It used to have a seat and an eight-edged pond under the seat, but they were buried under the ground by floods in the Qing dynasty. The brown glazed tiles that cover the body of the pagoda are carved with more than fifty types of designs. So lifelike are the carvings that they may well be called art treasures. Since the pagoda was built to be shockproof, it survived a number of earthquakes and floods. It is said the pagoda was built with a 15 degree of sloping to the northwest for the architects believed the terrain of Kaifeng was sure to change years later for there were mainly mud and sand under the land of Kaifeng. Their judgment proves to be correct. Nowadays, the pagoda indeed begins to slope towards southeast.

Xiangguo Temple

A temple of historical significance in Kaifeng and a temple of fame in China, Xiangguo Temple was originally the private mansion of Prince Xinling in the Warring States period. In the Northern Qi dynasty, a temple named as Jianguo Temple was built where the mansion was but was burned down in the flames of wars. In the Tang dynasty, a new temple was built in this place. Originally named after the one in Northern Qi, the temple was renamed the Grand Xiangguo Temple, or Xiangguo Temple. Inside the temple there are exquisite murals and statues as well as tall and grand halls including the Hall of Heavenly Kings, the Hall of Sakyamuni, the Octagonal Glazed Hall and the Hall of Sutra. Inside the Octagonal Glazed Hall, there stands a seven-meter high statue of the 1000-Armed-and-1000-Eyed Avalokiteshvara. Carved out of a huge ginkgo tree, the fine statue is a treasure of the Buddhist art and sculpture. In the temple, there is also a drum tower and a bell tower. In the bell tower there hangs a bell which was founded in the Qing dynasty and is four meters high and more than 5,000 kilograms heavy. For visitors, Xiangguo temple is not only a place where they can see for themselves the historical relics but also a place where they can pray for safety and happiness.

Po Ta

To the southeast of Kaifeng, there stands Xingci Pagoda. Since it is constructed on a terrace called Po, it is widely known as Po Ta ("Ta' in Chinese means pagoda). First built in the early Northern Song dynasty, the pagoda had nine stories but only three were left by the end of the Ming dynasty. Later, another six-storied mini-pagoda was added to its top, making the pagoda a very unique one. Seven meters high, the newly added mini-pagoda resembles a new sprout transplanted to a bulky trunk. Under the eaves, there is carved corbel bracket. The outside of the pagoda is inlaid with bricks carved with Buddhas of different images.

Yanqing Taoist Temple

One of the renowned Taoist temples in China, Yanqing Taoist Temple was originally named Chongyang Taoist Temple in honor of Wang Chongyang, the founder of the Quanzhen sect of Taoism in China. So dilapidated was it that the ruler of early Ming dynasty reconstructed it and gave it its current name. Most of the buildings in the temple were destroyed in the many floods that ravaged Kaifeng, leaving the Hall of Jade Emperor standing there alone. Built with grey bricks and on a square pedestal, the three-storied stairless hall is of a delicate and unique structure, reflecting both the Han culture and the Mongolian culture. Inside the hall, there sits a white jade statue of Jade Emperor.

In addition to those historical relics, the peculiar local food is also of great appeal to both Chinese and foreign visitors. Among the famous are the steamed meat-stuffed bun, tongzi chicken, stewed grass carp and peanut cake.