The Song dynasty city of Kaifeng was a place where the different classes of society intermingled, and where high culture existed side by side with popular attractions. The rich variety of the city's life drew many the painter Zhang Zeduan produced "A City of Cathay" (shown at top of page) which preserved the image of Kaifeng for subsequent generations and is still the best known depiction of traditional city life in China.
豐富的城市生活吸引了許多畫家著手描繪市井生活，北宋末年的畫家張擇端就在西元一一三五年左右，留下了中國美術史上最著名的市民畫《清明上河圖》，讓後人具體地看到了當時開封的面貌。