Zhengzhou

There aren't really too many foreigner hang-outs per se, but there's a lot worthing doing, particularly in Kaifeng. Zhengzhou is pretty sleepy, but there is a coffee shop next to the Holiday Inn Express (800) 830- 2626 and several good restaurants in the area as well. One is about 200 meters away from the Holiday Inn called Jin Jiu Garden ( address is Jin Shui Lu 109, 金水路109号）. If you want a truly odd, but interesting experience, there is a Brazilian Barbeque restaurant which is surely the best in the province a short cab ride from the Holiday Inn (郑州巴西烤肉餐). There are some nice parks around the city, but not terribly much else to do. There's also the Huang He Museum, which is somewhat interesting. Some of the small streets off the main road (which is pretty ugly itself) are quite charming with lots of trees.

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Kaifeng

If you end up in Henan Kaifeng is worth a visit. It looks a little like something out of an old western movie, with dusty streets and low buildings. Famed for its Jewish population who came over across the Silk Road hundreds of years ago, there is actually not much left to see of them. A few people claim to be Jewish there, but they are selling things, so their claims are somewhat dubious.

Interestingly the city does have a strong and visible religious history, with a large muslim population, beautiful Buddhist temples and a large and old church founded by an Italian missionary in the 17th century. All are worth seeing. Hop in a cab and hand the driver this location for the church：维新敬老院. The best temple is 大相国寺and don't forget to ask at the hotel about the famed Kaifeng night market (鼓楼夜市）.

There aren't too many 'high-end' options for hotel, but the Kaifeng Hotel (凯丰宾馆） is charming with traditional Chinese settings 378-595-5589 (located very close to the Da Xiang Buddhist Temple). There is also a UBC Coffee shop outside.

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Working in Kaifeng

I'm starting teaching English at Kaifeng University in September. Does anyone know anything about that uni? Is it good/bad, etc?

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Kaifeng is Small

Kaifeng is a fun city. I doubt that Kaifeng U is a 'top' school per se, but I don't know for sure. The city is small. I don't even think they have an airport! But it's really cool.

With Chinese universities, as a teacher the quality of the waiban (foreign affairs department) is much more important than the reputation of the school on the whole. You should ask the school to put you in touch with current/former teachers.

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