located in the west of henan province in central china, luoyang occupiesquite an important geographic location. it is in the middle reaches of theyellow river and is encircled by mountains and plains. to its east and west arethe hu lao pass and han gu pass which were essential domestic transportationjunctions in ancient times. to its north, mengjin county was an important ferrycrossing of the yellow river. thus, luoyang was selected as the capital city by13 dynasties starting from the xia dynasty (21st-16th century bc) in the 21stcentury bc. in the period following the han dynasty (206bc-220), andparticularly during the sui (581-618) and tand (618-907) dynasties, the cityexperienced a period of growth and prosperity and ranked as one of theinternational metropolitans of the time.
its long history endows luoyang with a profound sense of culture. the cityis the cradle of chinese civilization where many chinese legends happened, suchas nvwa patching the sky, dayu controlling flood and the chinese ancestorhuangdi establishing the nation. the city is also famed as the 'poets capital'as poets and literates of ancient china often gathered there and left grandworks, including 'book of wisdom' ('daode jing'), 'han history' ('han shu') and'administrative theory of admonishing official' ('zi zhi tong jian'). religiousculture once thrived here. taoism originated there and the first buddhist templeset up by the government was located there. luoyang is also the hometown of manyof the scientific inventions of ancient china, such as the seismograph,armillary sphere, paper making, printing and the compass.
luoyang has rich historical and cultural sites. the longmen grottoes areone of china's three most precious treasure houses of stone sculptures andinscriptions. the white horse temple is the first buddhist temple and is honoredas the 'cradle of buddhism in china'. mt. mangshan is where ancient tombs ofemperors, nobles and literates in the past dynasties collected. the luoyangancient tombs museum is the world's first example of the kind and presentsthousands of treasures discovered in the tombs. shaolin temple is the place oforigin for chinese zen buddhism and the cradle of chinese martial art.landscapes in luoyang hold the same attraction as the cultural sites. whitecloud mountain, funiu mountain, long yu wan national forest park, ji guanlimestone cave and the yellow river xiaolangdi scenic area are all worth avisit. additionally, luoyang is particularly well known for its peonies. everyyear in april, the flowers blossom and attract tourists from all over the world.dining in luoyang is quite an enjoyable experience. various kinds of localdishes, including water feast, yan cai and others which use the famous yellowriver carps as an ingredient, together with the uniquely flavored soups, willgreatly satisfy your taste buds. luoyang's local specialties such as palacelanterns, bronze vessels and tri-colored glazed potteries will no doubt delightyour eyes and offer you ideal souvenirs. being a modern city as well, luoyanghas hotels of all standards which provide you quite a broad choice for yourstay. most of the hotels have reasonable room prices and perfect services.
transportation is well developed in luoyang. beijiao airport has manydomestic flights extending to many large cities in other provinces. it's alsovery easy to get to luoyang by train because one of china's most importantrailway lines long hai railway traverses the city and connects most cities ineast, west and central china. the convenient city buses and taxies can carry youaround the city. near the railway station, special tourist buses can take you tothe tourist spots in the suburban areas of the city.
luoyang, a charming city filled with the fragrance of peonies and theprimitive atmosphere of ancient civilization, is waiting and welcoming guestsfrom all over the world. putting the city into the list of your exploration inchina, you will get far more than what you expect.
the longmen grottos
the longmen grottos are on the yihe river bank, some 12 kilometers fromancient luoyang city, about 30 minutes' drive. it is one of the three mostimportant buddhist sculptures and carvings in china. the longmen grottos enjoy agood location where two mountains confront each other between which flows theyihe river.
the grotto was first carved in north wei dynasty, over 1500 years ago andexpanded through the succeeding east and west wei dynasties, north qi dynasty,north zhou dynasty, sui and tang dynasties and was finally completed in northsong dynasty. over 500 years' renovation and expansion have created theprestigious world cultural site. the most significant chiseling activitieshappened in the tang and north wei dynasties, which lasted over 150 years.
spanning a length of around 1 kilometer on the hillside along the yiheriver, the niches resemble dozens of honeycombs dotting the area. there areabout 2.100 grottoes and niches, over 40 crematory urns, 3,600 inscribed stonetablets and over 100,000 buddhist images and statues. the largest one is 17meters high while the smallest is a tiny as 2 cm. one third of the complex areworks of the north wei dynasty. these masterpieces are the binyang cave, andlianhua( lotus cave). the impressive qianxi temple, fengxian temple, wanfo cave(ten thousand buddhist cave) are the highlights of the tang dynast's carvings.the longmen grottos are of great value in world sculpture history and it hasbeen listed in the world cultural heritage site by the unesco. to protect such avaluable heritage site, the chinese government as well as some influential worldcultural organizations are trying hard to share this site with the whole word. alarge-scaled renovation was undertaken in __ to keep the grottos in goodcondition.
white horse temple
located at the 12 kilometers east of luoyang city, the white horse templeis one of the oldest buddhist temples in china and is renowned as the cradle ofchinese buddhism. although it is not the largest nor the most beautiful buddhismmonument in china, this temple with its large number of buddhism items housedthere, is well worth a trip.
an interesting legend related to the temple goes that a white horse carriedthe first buddhist script from india here in ancient time hence the name whitehorse temple. history records that the site was original the place used by thesecond han emperor-liu zhuang as a summer resort and for study. in 68 ad, whenbuddhism reached its heyday in india, two indian monks brought buddhistscriptures to luoyang on the back of a white horse. the emperor, who was adevout buddhism believer, built the temple to house the scriptures and named itwhite horse temple. it was said that there were once thousands of monks livingin the temple. it was even used as a refugee sanctuary during the social turmoilof wang mang in the eastern han dynasty.
the two monks who brought scriptures from india were buried here. manymonks from outside china have visited the monk and many of them have spent therest of their time in that temple. the famous tang dynasty monk-xuanzang startedhis 17 years long pilgrimage trip to indian from the temple. after returning,xuanzhang became the abbot of the white horse temple, where he disseminated thescriptures of buddhism for the rest of his life.
guanlin temple
at the end of guanlin nan lu, guanlin temple was built to commemorate thegreat general guanyu of the state of shu during the three kingdoms period. inthe romance of three kingdoms, the shu general guanyu was defeated, captured andexecuted by sunquan, the ruler of the state of wu. fearing revenge from guanyu’sblood brother liubei who was the ruler of the state of shu, sunquan ordered tosend guanyu’s head to caocao-ruler of wei in an attempt to deflect theresponsibility for the death. caocao, however, was an admirer of guan's loyaltyand bravery. he ordered a wooden body be carved to accompany the head beforeguanyu was buried.
very little is known about when the temple was first built. the complex wasdeveloped during the ming dynasty and was underwent several renovation andexpansion during the succeeding qing dynasty. it's now comprised of halls,temples, pavilions and guan's tomb. some valuable stone tablets with elegantcalligraphies are also found here. the place is very popular among the localswho worship the valorous general by burning sticks of incense.
museum of ancient tombs
an interesting old saying goes that suzhou and hangzhou are good places tolive, while luoyang is a good place to die. many of the ancient emperors,princes, generals and other public celebrities took this advice and left ordersthat they were to be buried in luoyang after their death. there are over 20ancient tombs dating from the han dynasty to the north song dynasty. a museumwas built at the site where many ancient tombs were excavated.
the museum is at the mang hill in the north suburb of the city, about 8kilometers from the city center. covering an area of around 3 hectare, it hastwo parts: the underground and above ground parts. the above ground partcontains a han-style gate, some halls. tomb models from the stone age to the handynasty, restored funerary objects and funeral rituals are displayed in theeastern hall.
the underground section is a tomb groups site which is about 7 metersunderground. there are north and south song dynasties hall, wei and jindynasties hall, tang and song dynasties hall and a hall for refined itemsexcavated from the tombs. many of the vividly painted murals, valuable relicsand a number of pottery figures are on display here. visitors can also find themodels of ancient tombs. 22 ancient tombs restored to their original styles aredisplayed here.
luoyang museum
luoyang served as the capitals for a long period of time. history has leftthe place a large number of historical rare relics. many of these rarely seemitems can be found at the luoyang museum. the museum is located at the citycenter, very easy to find.
the museum's exhibition center displays refined ancient items includingbronze wares, ceramics, gold and silver artifacts and jade. these exhibitionsoffer a good illustration of the city's grand past.
luoyang peony
luoyang is renowned as: the city of peony. the city has long been famousfor its beautiful peony flowers. peony, has been called the king of flowers forits gorgeous charm and unbelievably beauty. the flower has been a symbol ofgrace in china. ancient chinese poets once compared peony with the beautiful andelegant ladies and thought the two were equally pleasant to the eye.
luoyang has a long history of planting peony. peony growing began toprevail in the region in the ancient sui dynasty, over one thousand years ago.in the tang dynasty, many famous gardens for peony were built and peony wasplanted on a massive scale. luoyang became the country's peony cultivation andtrade center in the song dynasty. luoyang peony is international famous for thepeony. luoyang's unique climate is well suited to its peony growing culture.luoyang is located in the temperate zone with favorable and humid climate allyear around.
luoyang peony is well-known for its big flowers and many varieties. eachyear, in late spring when the peonies are in full blossom, thousands of visitorsswarm to the city to enjoy the stunningly beautiful flowers. the internationalpeony festival held here annually adds even more fame to luoyang's peony.
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