Kaifeng, also K'ai-feng, city, northern China, in Henan Province, on the Huabei Pingyuan (North China Plain), south of the Huang He (Yellow River). It is a commercial, manufacturing, and agricultural center. Products include cotton textiles, agricultural machinery, fertilizer, and processed food. Known also in the past as Pien-ching, Kaifeng first gained prominence as the capital of the Wei dynasty in the 4th century BC. The city developed as a prosperous commercial center at the northern end of the original Grand Canal in the 7th century AD and served as the capital of the Northern Song emperors during 960-1126. Late in the 12th century a colony of Jews settled in the city. The colonists gradually were assimilated, through intermarriage, by the Chinese. Modern industrialization, reversing a long period of decline for Kaifeng, was begun in the 1950s. Population (1991) 508,224.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
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