The so-called Shuanwawa, literally “tying down a baby”, is a popular local custom of praying for a baby. The “baby” here refers to a kind of clay figure which is molded out of yellow mud and then stenciled with different colors after being dried. The clay baby can be a boy or a girl. The place to fasten clay babies is usually set in the vicinity of Chongsheng Gate and in the Sleeping Halls of Zhongyue Temple. The woman who expects a baby shall kneel down and burn the incense in front of the statues of Great Emperor Songyue and the Queen. The red string used to bind the neck of clay baby usually takes a shape of butterfly, very nice looking.

Taking over the clay baby, women will carry it home and put it bedside or under reed mat. If they succeed in giving birth to a baby as expected, they will return to the Zhongyue Temple to redeem her wish to Queen Songyue.

Cock fighting has been popular in Kaifeng ever since the Northern Song Dynasty. Fans of cock fighting find great pleasure in this game. Most of them like both kungfu and drinking, and have strong sense of brotherhood and strict disciplines. There is a tradition for these fans, that is, “Reason goes ahead of blood relationship”. If someone really likes a cock, it could be given as a present through introduction of friends. But there is also a regulation: this cock could only be raised by the person himself and should not be transferred to others, and it should not mate with other kinds of chicken.

These fans in Kaifeng like cock fighting very much. They treat the cocks so well as if the cocks are their own children. They always pay attention to the living conditions of the cocks. For example, they feed the cocks with the finest forage; every day they lay coal cinders under the chicken cage lest the cocks get ill due to lying on the cement floor. In winter, during the cock fighting season, they will put the cocks into specially-made bags or put in their clothes in order to keep the cocks warm.

The greatest characteristic of cocks in Kaifeng is their purebred. There is a set of strict rules in choosing breeds of cocks. People will bear in mind the mother, father and ancestors of a cock. And mating between close relatives is forbidden. People feed the cocks for “fighting”, so besides the strict standards and requirements in choosing breeds, there are also unique methods in feeding and training.

The cock fighting always takes place on the 2nd of the first lunar month, with other dates not fixed, likely to be held in the second, the third and the fourth lunar months. Generally people will choose the first Sunday of the month as the fighting date. Once the date is set, the place will be the next item to be fixed. The fighting place is called “cock fighting pit” because that lot of land is a bit lower than its surrounding area. The “cock fighting pit” of Kaifeng has been on the square outside the east gate of the “Inner City” in north Kaifeng ever since the end of Qing Dynasty.

Nowadays, cock fighting has become a kind of beneficial contest of the society and one of the local entertainments.

The Yellow River turns east at the boundary of Shaanxi and Shanxi, then, running past the famous Sanmenxia City, flows across He'nan Province. West He'nan mainly refers to the area around Sanmenxia. In the suburb of Lingbao county, Sanmenxia, there is a kind of special dwelling with a long history.

Locals say that the advantages of cave house are not only being economic but also being suitable for living——warm in winter and cool in summer because it is built under the ground. Nowadays people have made progress in making cave houses. Some build the ceiling by laying bricks or cement, while others build the walls by laying bricks, so that the cave houses could be solider, safer and better-looking.

The most distinctive feature of the cave houses is the courtyard. Locals dig a deep square pit, then excavate several cave houses on the walls of the pit, after which they will build a slope channel at one corner of the courtyard (i.e., the pit) leading to the ground as the gate. In the courtyard, they also dig a very deep well to gather rainwater. Cave houses with courtyard are the living example for researching the evolution of “cave dwelling” of primitive human beings and a spectacle for learning more about the local customs of villages on the loess plateau.

“Baifo Dingdeng”, the performance of “One Hundred Buddhas Carrying Lamps on Their Heads” in Xiangyang Village, Hubin District, Sanmenxia City is a unique view in customs show of Yellow River area in Sanmenxia. Wearing cassocks and carrying lamps on their heads, one hundred “monks” walk in a way of “Plum Blossom Steps”, with palm leaf fans in hand. This performance is well-known for its exquisite, difficult and adventurous skills and the success of the performance mainly depends on the eyesight and neck strength of the performers. It is a combination of action and stillness and is particular about the “stability”. People could feel the “boundless light of Buddha” in the pious but amusing looks of the performers. It is often played around the Lantern Festival to entertain the locals.