Attractions · Luoyang

Two hills stand like gates at Longmen with the Yi River flowing between them; the place was anciently called Yique, and it took the name "Dragon's Gate" after the Sui built their eastern capital, whose principal southern gate faced the opening directly. Carving began when Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei moved the capital to Luoyang (493 AD) and continued for more than four centuries through the Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi, Sui and Tang. Today 2,345 numbered caves and niches, nearly 110,000 statues and more than 2,800 stelae and inscriptions survive. On the west cliff, the Great Vairocana Niche of Fengxian Temple was begun in the third year of the Xianheng era of Tang Gaozong (672 AD), and Wu Zetian contributed "twenty thousand strings of cosmetic money"; nine figures are grouped around the Vairocana Buddha, which stands 17.14 meters tall, and the stele recording the niche's construction, the Record of the Great Vairocana Niche, still remains — a meeting of imperial will and supreme stonework. The Ten Thousand Buddha Cave on the east cliff packs more than ten thousand small Buddhas across its walls, while Northern Wei dedication inscriptions from Guyang Cave and elsewhere on the west cliff were later compiled as the Twenty Longmen Masterpieces, models of Wei-style stele calligraphy. The relief of the Emperor and Empress Worshiping the Buddha at the Binyang Caves was hacked out and dispersed in the 1930s, and today is divided between the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City. In November 2000 Longmen Grottoes were inscribed on the World Heritage List; Xiangshan Temple across the river and Bai Garden on Pipa Peak, where the poet Bai Juyi spent his last years and was buried, are part of the same setting.

Tip: Visit in the afternoon, when sunlight falls most beautifully on the Vairocana Buddha.

• Address: Longmen Town, Luolong District, Luoyang, Henan
• Ticket: ¥90
• Opening: 08:00–18:00

White Horse Temple stands about 12 kilometres east of Luoyang's old city. Tradition says that Liu Zhuang, Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han, dreamed one night of a golden figure flying past his palace hall and sent Cai Yin, Qin Jing and others west in search of the Dharma. In the Yongping era they brought back the Indian monks Kashyapa Matanga and Dharmaratna, whose images and scriptures were carried east on a white horse, and in the eleventh year of Yongping (68 AD) an imperial monastery was built, taking its name from the white horse carrying the scriptures; Chinese Buddhism honors it as the "ancestral court" and "source of the Teaching." The two monks translated texts at the Cooling Terrace inside the temple, and the Sutra of Forty-two Chapters, the earliest Buddhist scripture rendered into Chinese, is said to have been produced there. The surviving courtyards are a Ming and Qing reconstruction on the central axis, five courts deepening in sequence from the Hall of Heavenly Kings, the Great Buddha Hall, the Mahavira Hall and the Reception Hall to the Vairocana Pavilion. East of the temple stands the Qiyun Pagoda, formally the Pagoda of Shakyamuni's Relics, a Jin-dynasty brick multi-eaved pagoda more than twenty meters tall and the oldest surviving structure on the site. White Horse Temple was listed in the first batch of national key cultural relics in 1961, and in recent years Indian, Thai and Burmese style halls have been built to the west, so that Buddhist architecture from several countries stands side by side in one temple — a rarity in China.

Tip: Visit early in the morning, when the ancient cypresses and morning bells create the most Zen atmosphere.

• Address: Baima Town, Luolong District, Luoyang, Henan
• Ticket: ¥35
• Opening: 07:30–18:00

Yingtianmen was the southern gate of the Sui-Tang Luoyang palace city, first built in the first year of the Sui Daye era (605), and was the place where emperors held ceremonies for enthronement, changing the era name and granting amnesties. The site museum protects and displays the gate platform, passages and gate-tower foundations in situ. The reconstructed gate towers rise about 35 meters and use the double three-projection form, the highest rank among ancient Chinese capital gates. At night there are light shows and 3D projections, and visitors can climb the towers to look over Luoyang. Highlights include the Yingtianmen remains, the night view of the gate towers and the 3D light projections. Tip: enter in the late afternoon, see the remains and exhibitions first, then watch the lights after dark; it is on the same route as the Mingtang-Tiantang site and Luoyi Ancient City, at Yingtianmen station on Metro Line 1. Practical info: located at Dingding South Road at Kaixuan Road, Laocheng District, Luoyang; ticket about ¥60 (subject to official notices); opening hours 09:00–22:00 (last entry 21:00).

Tip: Enter in the late afternoon, see the remains and exhibitions first, then watch the lights after dark; it is on…

• Address: Dingding South Road at Kaixuan Road, Laocheng District, Luoyang
• Ticket: About ¥60 (subject to official notices)
• Opening: 09:00–22:00 (last entry 21:00)

Laojun Mountain occupies the main summit of the Funiu range, close to the eastern side of Luanchuan county town. The main peak rises to 2,217 meters, with granite pinnacles and peak clusters ranged along the ridge, and the suspended "Ten-Mile Painted Screen" plank walk runs along the crest. Daoism regards it as holy ground: tradition says that after Laozi (Li Er) left the Hangu Pass he went west to live in seclusion, refine the elixir and cultivate here, and the mountain takes its name from him. Temples were first built on the summit in the Northern Wei, and repaired and expanded during the Tang Zhenguan era — the Tang imperial house claimed Laozi as a distant ancestor, so the mountain repeatedly received imperial patronage — and it reached its height in the Ming and Qing, with as many as sixteen halls and Daoist shrines surviving in the mountain, including the Lingguan Hall and Lincu Hall. The Golden Summit complex occupies several peaks: Laojun Temple, the Golden Hall, the Five Mothers' Golden Hall, the Daode Mansion, Liangbao Terrace and the Yuhuang Summit, their copper walls gilded, so that when cloud seas wash over them only the roof ridges show — the image most famous in recent short videos. Laojun Mountain is now an important geosite of the Funiu Mountains Global Geopark and, with Jiguan Cave, forms a national 5A scenic area; winter brings snow rime and ice hangs, spring covers the mountain in rhododendrons, and the best experience is to wait for a cloud-sea sunrise.

Tip: Stay overnight on the mountain to see sunrise and the sea of clouds.

• Address: Luanchuan County, Luoyang, Henan
• Ticket: ¥100
• Opening: 08:00–18:00

Peony cultivation in Luoyang began in the Sui dynasty. Tradition says that when Emperor Yang of Sui built the Western Garden he gathered rare flowers and strange stones from across the empire, and by the Tang Kaiyuan era peonies were planted throughout palace gardens and private houses; by the Song there was the line "Luoyang's soil is best suited to flowers, and the peony is the wonder of all under heaven." In the Northern Song, Ouyang Xiu wrote the Record of Peonies of Luoyang, the earliest surviving monograph on peonies in China. It records the double yellow raised by the Yao family of Luoyang and the double purple from the household of Wei Renpu, Vice Commissioner of the Privy Council; later generations called them "Yao Huang and Wei Zi," respectively king and queen of flowers, and together with Zhao Fen and Dou Lü they are regarded as the four great cultivars. The peony was named Luoyang's city flower in 1982, and since then a peony festival has been held each April during the bloom, now expanded into the China Luoyang Peony Culture and Tourism Festival. Each garden has its own history: Wangcheng Park is built on the Eastern Zhou royal city site, the National Peony Garden lies along Mang Mountain, and the China National Flower Garden stands on the bank of the Luo River within the Sui-Tang Luoyang city ruins; early and late cultivars follow one another so that flowers can be enjoyed from late March to early May. Luoyang's gardens now grow more than 1,400 peony cultivars, and beyond the blooming season the peony is also served at banquets and made into peony cakes and sachets — the thousand-year imperial capital's emblem in the streets.

Tip: Peak bloom is usually in early-to-mid April; weekday mornings are relatively quiet.

• Address: 312 Zhongzhou Middle Road, Xigong District, Luoyang
• Ticket: About ¥30 during the Peony Culture Festival (subject to park notices)
• Opening: 07:00–19:00 during the festival (subject to park notices outside the season)

Luoyi Ancient City stands on the old ground of the Ming and Qing prefectural city in Luoyang's Laocheng District. Opened in 2017, it is now a national 4A scenic area; beneath it lie the boundaries of the Jin and Yuan old city, and remains of the old city wall are still visible in the park. Waterways and lanes form the skeleton of the district, linking the Wenfeng Tower, the Henan Prefecture Confucian Temple, the Tuoling Palace, the Four-Eye Well and other remains with reconstructed traditional courtyards. Most buildings have grey-tiled hard-gable roofs and carved-brick gateways, and the lane dimensions still follow the old system. Since opening, hanfu culture has been the main business: according to a 2023 report, hanfu businesses in the old city area grew from 68 at the start to more than 1,200, and most visitors rent a Tang or Song costume to walk the lanes. After dark the Wenfeng Tower and stone bridges are lit together, and traditional music, dance and variety shows are performed along the streets. It is the most concentrated night-tour area of Luoyang's old city and, together with the nearby Cross Street night market, forms what people now see as the night of the "divine capital." Highlights include the hanfu experience and the old-street night view. Tip: go after dusk, when the lighting is at its best. Practical info: located in Laocheng District, Luoyang; admission free; open all day.

Tip: Go after dusk, when the lighting is at its best.

• Address: Laocheng District, Luoyang
• Ticket: Free
• Opening: All day