Kaifeng Synagogue in the city of Kaifeng, Henan Province, is the
only Jewish synagogue in China whose origins can be traced back
to the earliest migration of Youtai ("Jews") to the country, who
are believed to have arrived in China from Central Asia,
possibly from India. At the time of the construction of the
synagogue – it was allegedly built in CE 1163 – Kaifeng
(formerly known variously as Bianliang, Bianjing/ Dongjing,
Daliang, and simply Liang) was the capital city of the Song (CE
960-1279) Dynasty. The synagogue was unfortunately destroyed in
the 1860s and was never rebuilt. Thanks, however, to the French-
Chinese priest, Meng Zhengqing, who once sketched two pictures
of this synagogue – one depicting the entire synagogue and one
depicting the synagogue's inner decoration – the true appearance
of Kaifeng's old Jewish synagogue can be seen. Looking at the
synagogue's two pictures, one can determine the scale of the
building, which appears to be 130 meters long from west to east,
and 50 meters wide from no