Kaifeng Jews

When I worked in Kaifeng, toured the Jewish Street and also had a dinner with a Jewish family in his restaurant. The woman told me that they gave gold to Jewish refugees, expecting me to give her something. I had the impression - like others visiting the city - that there were no bona fide Jews but impostors trying to milk those rich foreigners. When the factory tried to connect me with a "Jewish" employee, it soon became clear that she was a Hui, that is, a local Chinese Muslim. Communist terror drove the few Jewish clans underground, but they had long forgotten what the religion was. According to today's Tablet, the Central Government has focused on them, which could lead to the revival of some kind of community.  The commercial picture above is a famous bridge that I visited. In the photo, it looks romantic, but I found it unremarkable. In general, Kaifeng was grey, built in the Soviet style, poor and joyless. Of course, that was 25 years ago, and China is very different now.