Kaifeng Fanta: A Secret Song Dynasty Buddhist Pagoda Through a Millennium

1. Core Information at a Glance • 🎫 Tickets: 15 RMB (adult ticket, half-price discount for students and seniors aged 60-70), free for seniors over 70 and children under 1.4 meters. • 🕐 Opening Hours: Daylight saving time (May to October) 8:30 AM - 6:30 PM, standard time (November to April) 8:30 AM - 6:00 PM. Recommended visiting times are 9-11 AM or 2-4 PM to avoid peak crowds. • 📍 Address: No. 30, Fanta West Street, Yuwangtai District, Kaifeng (near the west gate of Yuwangtai Park). • 🚗 Transportation: ◦ 🚌 Bus: Take routes 1, 8, 15, 20, or Tour 5 to "Fanta Station" or "Yuwangtai West Gate Station," then walk 5-10 minutes. ◦ 🚗 Taxi: About 10 minutes from downtown, costing 10-15 RMB. Navigate to "Fanta Park," and you can reach the parking lot via a small path behind the pagoda. 2. In-Depth Travel Guide 1. 👀 Must-See Highlights • ✅ Unique Song Dynasty Buddhist Pagoda: ◦ Fanta was originally built in the 7th year of the Kaibao era of the Northern Song Dynasty (974 AD). It is the oldest surviving building in Kaifeng, nearly a century older than the Iron Pagoda. Originally 73 meters tall, it has endured wars, floods, and the Ming Dynasty’s "cutting royal aura" event, leaving only three tiers. Later, six small tiers were added on top, creating a unique "big pagoda wearing a small hat" shape. The folk saying "The Iron Pagoda is tall, the Iron Pagoda is tall, but it only reaches the waist of Fanta" originates from this. ◦ Nearly 7,000 Buddha image bricks are embedded inside and outside the pagoda, each brick featuring a Buddha, including 108 different figures such as Bodhisattvas, Arhats, and musicians. Each face and robe detail is unique, making it an open-air Song Dynasty Buddhist art museum. • ✅ Treasure Trove of Calligraphy Art: ◦ Inside the pagoda are 178 stone inscriptions from the Song Dynasty, including the "Diamond Sutra" and "Summary of the Ten Good Deeds Sutra," written by Northern Song calligrapher Zhao Anren. The calligraphy combines strength and softness, making these precious artifacts invaluable for studying Song calligraphy. • ✅ Mystery of the Underground Palace: ◦ Discovered during repairs in 1984, the underground palace’s inscriptions record that it once contained crystal coffins and relics of the Buddha, but these treasures were stolen and no longer exist. The inscriptions are key evidence for dating the pagoda’s construction. 2. Tour Route • Main Tour (about 1 hour): 1. Entrance Plaza: Check the guide map and historical panels to learn about Fanta’s architectural features and historical changes. 2. Pagoda Exploration: Walk around the pagoda to admire the Buddha image brick carvings, focusing on the 20 musician bricks in the southern chamber on the second tier, holding instruments like pipa and panpipes, showcasing the Song Dynasty orchestra. 3. Inside the Pagoda: Enter from the north gate on the first floor, climb the narrow stairway (only one person at a time) to the third floor to closely observe stone-carved Buddhist scriptures and the decorative caisson ceiling. 4. Surrounding Walk: Pause briefly at the jujube grove behind the pagoda and the Ming Dynasty Guoxiang Temple ruins to feel the ancient atmosphere. 3. Photography Tips • Upward Angle: Shoot from the plaza in front of the pagoda with the sky as the background to highlight the hexagonal outline and layered Buddha image brick carvings. • Detail Capture: Use a telephoto lens to photograph facial expressions of the Buddha images, robe carvings, and stone inscriptions, showcasing the exquisite craftsmanship of Song artisans. • Light and Shadow: Between 10-11 AM or 3-4 PM, side lighting enhances the three-dimensional effect of the carvings, and the pagoda’s shadow on the ground creates unique compositions. 3. Recommended Nearby Attractions 1. Yuwangtai Park (5-minute walk) • Highlights: ◦ Ancient Music Stage Ruins: The Spring and Autumn period musician Shikuang once performed here; Tang Dynasty poets Li Bai, Du Fu, and Gao Shi gathered here to compose poetry. Existing buildings include the Three Sages Shrine and Yuwang Hall. ◦ Tomb of the Eleven Martyrs of the 1911 Revolution: Commemorates martyrs who died in the Kaifeng uprising, with a solemn and respectful atmosphere. ◦ Water Park (open in summer): Tickets only 10 RMB early morning (7:30-8:30 AM) and after 5 PM, featuring wave pools and lazy rivers, ideal for family outings. • Opening Hours: 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM, free admission. 2. Iron Pagoda Park (10-minute taxi ride) • Highlights: ◦ Iron Pagoda: A glazed tile pagoda from the Song Dynasty, standing tall for over 900 years. The pagoda is embedded with glazed bricks depicting flying apsaras and qilin, known together with Fanta as the "Twin Pagodas of Kaifeng." ◦ Jinyin Hall: Houses a 5.14-meter tall bronze Buddha from the Song Dynasty, beautifully crafted. • Tickets: 30 RMB; combined ticket with Fanta and Shanxi-Gansu-Shaanxi Guild Hall for 88 RMB (original price 130 RMB). 4. Food and Accommodation 1. Nearby Food • Siwei Dish (Fanta West Street): A pot stew of braised lamb, daylily, gluten, and meatballs, served with pot helmet bread soaked in soup. Recommended is the "Old Brand Siwei Dish." • Chicken Blood Soup (Songmen Guan Street): The "Family Set" includes chicken blood, intestines, and liver, with broth simmered for 6 hours on chicken frames. The freshest broth is at 5 AM. • Simen Lamb Soup (Qingping North-South Street): "Siwei Stew" (lamb, crispy meat, meatballs, daylily) served with fried meatballs, with a rich broth. 2. Accommodation Suggestions • Budget: 7 Days Inn (East Train Station Building Materials City Branch), 1.7 km from Fanta, suitable for budget travelers. • Comfortable: Kaifeng Kaiyuan Mingdu Hotel, about 5 km from Fanta, fully equipped with breakfast included. 5. Practical Tips • Ticket Discounts: ◦ Kaifeng Tourism Annual Card: 60 RMB, allows unlimited visits to Fanta, Iron Pagoda, Longting, and 26 other attractions for 13 months, ideal for multiple visits. ◦ Cultural Tourism Benefit Card: 99 RMB, includes year-round park admission and free bus rides, offering better value. • Notes: ◦ The stairways inside the pagoda are narrow and steep with high steps; elderly and children should climb carefully. ◦ Touching Buddha image bricks and stone carvings is prohibited; flash photography is not allowed. • Souvenirs: ◦ At the exit, you can buy replica bookmarks of Buddha image bricks, Fanta models, and other cultural products. 6. Sample Itinerary Half-Day Tour (Compact): • 9:00 AM Arrive at Fanta, buy tickets, visit the pagoda body and interior stone carvings, about 1 hour. • 10:30 AM Walk to Yuwangtai Park, visit the Ancient Music Stage and Three Sages Shrine, about 1.5 hours. • 12:00 PM Head to Fanta West Street to try Siwei Dish. Full-Day Tour (In-Depth): • Morning: Fanta (1 hour) → Yuwangtai Park (1.5 hours) → Simen Lamb Soup (lunch). • Afternoon: Taxi to Iron Pagoda Park (30 RMB), visit Iron Pagoda and Jinyin Hall (2 hours) → Shanxi-Gansu-Shaanxi Guild Hall (20 RMB ticket, 1 hour). • Evening: Drum Tower Night Market to enjoy soup dumplings and stir-fried cold noodles, ending the trip. Though Fanta is not as famous as the Iron Pagoda, its unique historical fate and artistic value make it an unmissable cultural secret in Kaifeng. When your fingertips touch the millennium-old Buddha image bricks, it feels as if you travel through time, experiencing the prosperity and vicissitudes of the Northern Song capital.