After breakfast, we depart Xi'an to travel by TGV to Luoyang. We've travelled quite a distance since we first arrived in Beijing in the afternoon of Day 2 - about 800 miles or so.
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| Beijing To Xi'An and on to Luoyang - Quite a distance, eh!? |
We'll be in Luoyang for the rest of Day 8 and part of Day 9 when we'll be flying to Shanghai. But first we'll visit the "Dragon's Gate Grotto", also known as the Longmen Caves, located about 7 miles (12 km) south of Luoyang in the afternoon of Day 8 and then to the Shaolin Temple on the morning of Day 9.
Located in the western part of Henan Province in central China, Luoyang occupies the middle reaches of the Yellow River and is encircled by mountains and plains. To the east and the west are the Hu Lao and Han Gu Passes which were major transportation junctions in ancient times. To the north, Mengjin County was an important crossing of the Yellow River. Because of its location, Luoyang was selected as the capital city by 13 dynasties starting with the Xia Dynasty in the 21st century BC. In the period following the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD), and particularly during the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties, the city was ranked as one of the international metropolises of the day.
This long history endows the city with a profound sense of culture. The city is the cradle of Chinese civilization where many Chinese legends arose - "Nvwa Patching the Sky", "Dayu Controlling the Floods" and the Chinese ancestor "Huangdi Establishing the Nation". The city is also famed as the "Poets' Capital" as poets, philophers and writers of ancient times gathered here and wrote great works such as the "Book of Wisdom" ("Daode Jing"), "Han History" ("Han Shu") and "Administrative Theory of Admonishing Official" ("Zi Zhi Tong Jian").
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| The Duke of Zhou - Founder of Luoyang |
Taoism originated in the area. The White Horse Temple, the first Buddhist temple, is honoured as the "cradle of Buddhism" in China. It was here that many of the scientific inventions of ancient China - the seismograph, armillary sphere, paper making, printing, the compass, and many others - were discovered.
Luoyang has rich historical and cultural sites. The Longmen Grottoes are one of China's three most precious treasure houses of stone sculptures and inscriptions. Mt. Mangshan is the location of the ancient tombs of emperors, nobles and literates from past dynasties. The Luoyang Ancient Tombs Museum presents thousands of treasures discovered in the tombs. The Shaolin Temple is the birthplace of Chinese Zen Buddhism and the cradle of Chinese martial arts.
The geography of the city holds the same attraction as the cultural sites. White Cloud Mountain, Funiu Mountain, Long Yu Wan National Forest Park, Ji Guan Limestone Cave and the Yellow River Xiaolangdi Scenic Area are all worth a visit. Luoyang is particularly well known for its peonies. Every year in April, the flowers blossom and attract visitors from all over the world.
The Longmen Caves
The Longmen Grottoes or Longmen Caves (also known as the Dragon's Gate Grottoes) are one of the finest examples of Chinese Buddhist art. Housing tens of thousands of statues of Buddha and his disciples, they are located 8 miles (12 km) south of Luòyáng in Hénán province. The images, many once painted, were carved into caves excavated from the limestone cliffs of the Xiangshan and Longmenshan mountains (hence the name "Longmen"). The name, "Dragon's Gate Grottoes" derives from the semblance of the two mountains that check the flow of the Yi River to the typical "Chinese gate towers" that once marked the entrance to Luoyang from the south.
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| Statues In The Longmen (Dragons Gate) Caves |
There are as many as 100,000 statues within the 1,400 caves, ranging from an 1 inch (25 mm) to 57 feet (17 m) in height. The area also contains nearly 2,500 stelae and inscriptions, hence the name "Forest of Ancient Stelae", as well as over sixty Buddhist pagodas. Situated in a scenic natural environment, the caves were dug from a one kilometre (0.62 mi) stretch of cliff running along both banks of the river Yi. Thirty percent of the caves date from the Northern Wei Dynasty (386 AD to 534 AD) and 60% from the Tang Dynasty (618 AD – 907 AD). Caves from other periods account for less than 10% of the total. Starting with the Northern Wei Dynasty in 493 AD, patrons and donors included emperors, Wu Zetian of the Second Zhou Dynasty, members of the royal family, other rich families, generals, and religious groups.
Our Hotel - Zhengzhou Cheered Hotel, 88 West Street, Xinmi, Zhengzhou
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| Zhengzhou Cheered Hotel |
Another busy day. Tomorrow, we fly on to Shanghai after visiting the Shaolin Temple.
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