Travel Destinations: Luoyang, Henan Province, China

Luoyang was the capital of 13 dynasties until the Northern Song dynasty decided to make Kaifeng the capital city in the 10^th century, making Luoyang one of the most ancient of all Chinese cities. Luoyang was the centre of the Chinese universe, the golden city of virtue, peace and the Eastern Capital of the Great Tang Dynasty. Home to more than 1.4 million people, it also housed more than 1300 Buddhist temples.

In the 12^th century, Luoyang was invaded by the Jurchen, a nomadic people from the north, and the city never fully recovered. By the 1920s, the city’s population had fallen to 20,000, wallowing in its former glory. Today, Luoyang gives a sense of being ‘stuck’ between the ancient world and the modern. Visitors will see ancient walls with honking cars, ducks crossing the roads and walking down the pavements and the pride in its magnificent history.

There are so many different places to visit when coming to Luoyang. Start with a trip to White Horse Temple (Baima Si). This temple was originally constructed in the first century CE and is mostly believed to be the first Buddhist temple built in China, although a large portion of the original building has been rebuilt.

The temple was built in honour of two Indian monks. During the Han dynasty, the emperor sent court emissaries west where they met two Indian monks in modern day Afghanistan. They returned with the Chinese, riding on white horses, bringing with them Buddhist scriptures and statues. The Han emperor was impressed with the monks and constructed a temple for them. After they died, it became their final resting place.

White Horse Temple has some beautiful halls; the Hall of the Heavenly Kings, Big Buddha Hall, the Hall of Mahavira and the Pilu Hall are simply beautiful and very interesting. Outside the temple, the Qiyun Pagoda should not be missed. This is an ancient 12 tire pagoda that is still active today so you can watch the Buddhist monks toiling away.

Luoyang Museum (Luoyang Bowuguan) is another great place to visit. It showcases some interesting ancient pottery. Upstairs, you can see the diorama from Luoyang in the Sui and Tang dynasties.

Head into the old city (laochengqu), east of the Lijing Gate (Lijing Men). You can wander around the wonderful maze-like streets, exploring every nook and cranny. The Wen Feng Pagoda (Weng Feng Ta) is the sight to see here; over 700 years old, it is made of brick and square in appearance. You can also visit the Drum Tower (Gu Lou) which can be found on the east side of Dong Daijie. Whilst in this part of Luoyang, take the time to see the two surviving halls of the former City God Temple (Chenghuang Miao); although it is not open to visitors, it is still an interesting place to visit.

The Zhou Wangcheng Tianzi Jialiu Museum is another tourist hotspot. In 770BCE, the Zhou emperor Ping transferred his capital to Luoyang, which was then known as Louyi. This museum is home to some wonderful Zhou dynasty bronzes excavated in tombs. The highlight of this museum is the remarkable Zhou dynasty horse and chariot pits excavated beneath Wangcheng Square.

Go a little outside of Luoyang and you will have quite a choice of cultural attractions to visit. Start with the Longmen Caves, which are also known as the Dragon Gate Grottos. A celebrated UNESCO World Heritage Site, these caves are one of China’s few surviving Buddhist rock carving masterpieces.

These carvings were first started during the Northern Wei dynasty when the capital was moved to here from Datong in 494 CE. For the next 200 years, artists sculpted more than 100,000 statues and other types of Buddhist iconography.

Unfortunately, in the early 20^th century, unscrupulous vandals and thieves beheaded these statues or simply removed them whole. Many of these ended up on the black market and sold to collectors abroad. One of these includes the two murals that hang in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Atkinson Museum in Kansas City.

The Three Binyang Caves (Binyang San Dong) is another great attraction here. Building started here during the Northern Wei dynasty and continued in the Sui and Tang dynasties; indeed, many of the later Buddhist statues here resemble the Northern Wei style of art.

Go south from the Three Binyang Caves and you will find the Ten Thousand Buddha Cave which dates to the Tang dynasty. You can gaze upon the beautiful bas-relief with 10,000 tiny Buddhas and a beautiful effigy of the Amitabha Buddha.

The Lotus Flower Cave (Lianhua Dong) is another wonderful place. It is home to a large standing, but faceless, Buddha that was carved in 527 CE during the northern Wei dynasty. Inside, the ceiling of the cave has a large central lotus flower with apsaras (celestial nymphs) around. In Buddhist art, the lotus flower is a symbol of purity and serenity.

Luoyang is a city that can be reached by plane, train or bus. If flying, it’s best if you fly into Zhengzhou where regular direct flights go to Beijing, Shanghai and other cities. From the airport, you can easily catch a train or bus to Luoyang.

Buses can be caught from the Luoyang long-distance bus station to many different places; Zhengzhou will take an hour and half, Gongyi around 40 minutes, Kaifeng three hours and Beihing around nine hours. Bus routes are daily and very reliable. Trains will take eight to ten hours to Beijing, 14 to 15 hours to Beijing, and six hours to Xi’an.