Luoyang Facts

Luoyang, one of China ancient capital cities, was a seat of power for 13 dynasties and is a saint city in respect of the historical and cultural background. Its name comes from its strategic location by the Luo River. Luoyang is famous as the ancient capital of nine dynasties. From the first dynasty in China, the Xia dynasty, Luoyang served as capital for 13 dynasties (including the Shang, Western Zhou, Eastern Han, Western Jin, Northern Wei, Sui, and Tang dynasties). It has served as a capital for more than 1500 years and, among the 7 great ancient capitals in China, it served as capital for the most people and for the longest time.

Used to be a well-known city with long history, Luoyang is nowadays an energetic and charming city. Moreover, Luoyang is a famous and excellent tourism city with 21state-level key heritage sites,and more than 640 other level key heritage sites, including over 400 thousand pieces of unearthed relics being found. The area is also famous for its peonies, the national flower of China. Peonies have been grown in this region for over a thousand years, since the Tang Dynasty. Every year, the Luoyang Peony Fair is hold in Luoyang to see the most beautiful peonies on earth.

Basis Information

Chinese name: 洛阳
Location: Central China
Dialing code: 0379
Zip code: 471000
Official Language: Chinese
Currency: RMB
Main attractions in Luoyang: Longmen Grottoes, White Horse Temple, Guanlin Temple, etc.

Administration Distribution

Located in the west of Henan Province, Luoyang is on the middle reaches of the Yellow River.
The prefecture-level city of Luoyang administers 6 districts, 1 county-level city and 8 more rural counties, including including Jianxi District, Xigong District, Laocheng District, Chanhe District, Luolong District, Jili District, Yanshi City, Mengjin County, Xin'an County, Luoning County, Yiyang County, Yichuan County, Song County, Luanchuan County, Ruyang County.

In Luoyang city, Luohe River flow through the city from southwest to northeast. Historical cultural sires are mostly concentrated around the railway station in the Old Town; in the north of the city is the ancient tombs reserve areas. and parts of the peony gardens are sited here as well. In south of the city is home to the famous Longmen Grottoes.

Climate

Luoyang lies in the west part of Henan. It belongs to the North Temperate Zone and has a continental climate. Spring is cold and dry. Most of the rainfall comes during the rainy season in summer time. Summer in Luoyang is humid. Autumn has the most comfortable weather conditions and is the best time to visit. High season prices do apply however, and it is more crowded. Winter is cold and snow is common. The annual Peony Festival is held here in April. Visitors can enjoy a great variety of beautiful peony flowers so April is also a good time to visit if you want to see. Located twelve kilometers south of Luoyang, the Longmen Grottoes are among the greatest treasure troves of ancient stone carving in China. The best time to visit Longmen Grottoes in winter. As the winter usually has a strong wind and low temperature during visitor sightseeing. Put on a coat and scarf is necessary.

• Best Time to Visit

Best time to visit Luoyang is in April, May, September and October. In April and early May, it is the blooming season of peony flowers. During this period, you can see peony flowers every where in the city.

• Dressing Tips

Luoyang has distinct four seasons. Winter is cold with less rain and snow, a down coat is necessary; spring is dry and windy, gauze kerchief and thin coat would help. Summer is hot and rainy, T-shirt or sport pans are enough; autumn is cool and comfortable.

Tourism

As one of famous ancient city in China, Luoyang features with a lot of ancient historic and cultural sites, as well as much natural landscape.

• Best Places to Visit 

♦ Longmen Grottoes - it is a must visit places in Luoyang. It is a national 5A scenic spots located in the southern suburbs of the urban area. This place is home to e more than 100,000 Buddha statues of Northern Wei Dynasty, and more than 2,000 Buddha grottoes. It is regarded as a fine example of ancient religious art to the human.

♦ White Horse Temple - also known as Baima Temple, only 12km east of the city centre. It is the first officially sanctioned Buddhist temple in China and one of the oldest in the world. It was established almost 2000 years ago but rebuilt many times since.

♦ Guanlin Temple - Commemorating Guan Yu, great warrior of the Kingdom of Shu and main character from, "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

Other sites like Wangcheng Park, Luoyang Museum of Ancient Tombs, Longtan Grand Canyon, Xiaolangdi Scenic Zone, Du Fu's tomb, etc. are famous place to visit as well.

Shopping

There are full of things for you to buy as souvenirs or gifts, including crafts and local products in Luoyang. Tri-colored Pottery is quite famous in Luoyang, which has a history of hundreds of years. Luo Embroidery is a traditional Luoyang handicraft, it has a history of more than 2000 years. Other things like peony, plum blossom jade are also featured things in the city. Famous places to shop in Luoyang include Li Jing Men and Xin Du Hui. In Li Jing Men, you can find a lot of traditional specialties of Luoyang. Xin Du Hui is the icon of fashion and modern of Luoyang, which is more suitable for shopping and eating for young people.

Transportation

Today, Luoyang is the second largest and one of the most industrialized cities in Henan Province. Transportation to and from the city is fairly convenient. Bus and train are the most feasible options to and from most destinations.

 Air

Located about 10 kilometers north of Luoyang City, Luoyang Beijiao Airport (LYA) is one of the most important transportation facilities in the province. It was built in 1986 and now enjoys a clearance rating, which enables flights to be operated more than 350 days per year. It also offers special services for the disabled, seniors, and children.

More than 20 flights to other large cities operate out of Luoyang Airport including Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing, and Urumqi. Charter flights to Hong Kong and Okayama connect the city to more international cities.

There is no public bus service between the city proper and the airport. CAAC shuttle buses serve passengers from the CAAC building to the airport but they are not frequent. Taxi is a much more convenient option. Taxis are plentiful and it's very easy to flag down one or you can call a taxi right in front of your hotel. There is usually stream of taxis stopping in front of hotels for passengers. A ride to the airport via taxi costs about CNY30.

 Rail

Luoyang Railway Station is located on the northern part of Luoyang city on the corner of Jiefang Lu and Dannan Lu. From the city center, the railway station is about 3km and can be reached in less than 10 minutes by taxi from most destinations in Luoyang.
Luoyang's significant role as a major stop along the Lanzhou-Shanghai rail line makes train travel the most convenient way to reach Luoyang. Direct trains to Shanghai, Nanjing, Xi'an, Chengdu, Lanzhou, Beijingand Guangzhou are available.

  Bus

Luoyang has many public buses running across the city everyday. The buses usually start as early as 5:30 in the morning and stop at 21:00. Remember to check out the specific time of the bus you will take before you begin your travel in Luoyang. Tickets for most buses range from 1RMB to 1.5 RMB.

Besides, Luoyang also several long distance bus stations which run bus from Luoyang to Xian, Zhengzhou, Fuzhou, Quanzhou and Yantai and some neighboring areas such as Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, and Sanmenxia.

Festivals in Luoyang 

• China Luoyang Peony Festival

Time: annually in April, for a period of a month or so
Location: Wangcheng Park, Xiyuan Park, Peony Park, etc.
Peony is the city flower of Luoyang City. It is kind of tradition to held annually the Peony Festival. has always had organized practices. Peony in full bloom each year, will host "Peony", peony flowering time is different according to the annual Peony Festival is generally held in April.
Venue: Wangchenggongyuan, Xiyuan Park, the Peony Park

• HeLuo Culture and Tourism Festival

Time: annually in September
Location: Guanlin Temple or Longmen
activities of the Culture and Tourism Festival mainly include Longmen Weibei International Calligraphy Festival, Guanlin international pilgrimage ceremony, Funiushan Red Leaves Festival, Food Festival, souvenirs Fair, autumn peony exhibition and other activities, usually held in September.

• Luoyang Folk Culture Festival

Time: April
Location: Luoyang Folk Museum
as an important part of Luoyang Peony Festival, the folk culture festivals is held each year in mid-April in Luoyang Folk Museum. During the period, many folk art groups in the city put on dragon lanterns, lion dance, waist drum, Yangko, cockfighting and other folk performance.