Luoyang
From ChinaTravelGuide
Central China (华中) » Henan (河南) » Luoyang (洛阳)
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[edit] Overview
Luoyang (洛阳) was one of the four great ancient capitals of China. Like Xi'an, it's full of relics because of its history of being an imperial capital for many centuries.
Luoyang is located 25 km south of the Yellow River. It is known as the city of peony (city flower of Luoyang).
Famous attractions include Longmen Grottoes, a World Heritage Site, and many temples, including the famous White Horse Temple.
[edit] History
Luoyang was the capital of China during the Eastern Zhou dynasty (770-256 BC), the Eastern Han dynasty (AD 25-220), and in 494 the Northern Wei dynasty (386-534), and in 605 the Sui dynasty (581-618). It entered a long period of decline after the Song emperors (960-1279) moved the capital east to Kaifeng. Luoyang never recovered after that, and its population decreased to only about twenty thousand people by 1920. China's first Five Year Plan in the early 1950s designated Luoyang for industrial development, and it has enjoyed the rapid growth ever since. Luoyang's resurrection was helped by its position astride one of China's most important railway lines, Longhai Railway, which runs through the city and connects many cities in east, west and central China.
Luoyang is surrounded by hills at three sides, and was a battleground for many fights because of its strategic position. Many treasures were buried to save them from the battles. So you can find numerous rich historical and cultural sites in Luoyang.
[edit] Weather
Current Conditions (2010-03-14 11:31:39, local time)
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Luoyang |
Temp: 39°F (4°C) |
Luoyang Weather Forecast
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| Weather averages for Luoyang | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| Avg high °C (°F) | 5 (41) | 8 (46) | 13 (55) | 21 (70) | 26 (79) | 31 (88) | 31 (88) | 29 (84) | 26 (79) | 20 (68) | 13 (55) | 7 (45) | |
| Avg low °C (°F) | -4 (25) | -1 (30) | 3 (37) | 10 (50) | 15 (59) | 20 (68) | 22 (72) | 21 (70) | 17 (63) | 11 (52) | 4 (39) | -2 (28) | |
| Rain cm (inches) | 0.87 (0.3) | 1.39 (0.5) | 2.53 (1) | 2.89 (1.1) | 5.34 (2.1) | 6.14 (2.4) | 11.59 (4.6) | 9.73 (3.8) | 6.31 (2.5) | 3.62 (1.4) | 1.8 (0.7) | 0.8 (0.3) | |
| Source: per MSN 2008 | |||||||||||||
[edit] Map
Click here to open Luoyang map.
[edit] Video
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[edit] Getting in & Getting out
[edit] By Air
Luoyang Airport (IATA: LYA) is about 10 km from downtown Luoyang, at the north suburb of the city.
The airport has domestic flights to Beijing (北京), Shanghai (上海) (by China Eastern Airlines), Guangzhou (广州), Chengdu (成都), Dalian (大连), Shenzhen (深圳) (by Shenzhen Airlines), etc.
[edit] By Train
The train station is located at the northern end of Jinguyuan Road and Daonan Road in Xigong district (西工区).
- Beijing - takes about 9 hours (813 km)
- Guangzhou - takes about 22 hours (1729 km)
- Shanghai - takes about 15 hours (1122 km)
- Xian - takes about 4.5 hours (387 km)
- Wuhan - takes about 8 hours (640 km)
- Chengdu - takes about 22 hours (1230 km)
- Zhengzhou - takes about 2 hours (124 km)
Refer for Luoyang train schedulefor detailed train schedule info.
[edit] By Bus
The long-distance bus station is near the Guanlin Temple. The ticket is about 400 RMB.
[edit] Getting Around
[edit] By Public Bus
Transportation inside the city of the Luoyang is very convenient, the bus is divided into city inside is two kinds of with suburb, public bus which costs ¥1 or ¥2 per ride, hands over big and parts of beauty spots that the circuit overlaid whole citieses basically, embarking the bus to go the convenience but real benefit.
--from wikitravel.org
[edit] By Tour Bus
[edit] By Metro
[edit] By Taxi & Rental Car
the taxi start price is 6 dollars(contain 3 kilometers of), 1 dollar per kilometer. Moreover the Luoyang market doesn't greatly accumulate, beating carfare to use in the downtown not high, probably 20 dollars can walk then Luoyang city.
--from wikitravel.org
[edit] Attractions
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.
Longmen Grottoes (龙门石窟) is one of three prominent grottoes in China and has been listed as the world cuituralheritage;Bairna Temple is the first royaiternple buiit after the Bud dhism is brought into China and is called as the origin of Buddhism and ancestor house;Tianzijialiu Museum,Guanlin,Han Emperor Guangwu Mausoleum,and the heritages as the capital of Xia Dynasty,Shang Dynasty,Zhou Dynasty,Han Dynasty, Wei Dynasty,Sui and Tang Dynasty are all scattered in this city.
These heritages make this city more splendid end show the essence of history.Now,the Silk Road and Great Canal is applying for the world cultural heritage.Luoyang has graceful mountains and river and beautiful natural scenes,among which,there are more than 2Ostate or province levelnatural scenes,1 Class 5-A spots, 10Class 4-A spots,and 9Class 3-A spots.The five urban forest parks of LongmenShan,ZhouShan,QiShan, Xiaolangdi and Sui &Tang Dynasty Heritage set each other off beautiful,while four rivers,Yihe River,Luohe River,Chanhe River and Jianhe River cross here.
ln particular,the 16km long Luopu Park crosses the city creating a fantastic scene like a picture besetting in the center of the city.The Nanhu music spring in new zone has many world top crowns,such as the longest digital control spring-369m,largest coverage comprehensive water landscaping work 120thousand㎡,first hightech water shape design,most precise digital control positioning system,and the longest and highest frequency conversion array.
- Longmen Grottoes (龙门石窟)
- White Horse Temple (zh:白马寺)
- Yellow River Xiaolangdi (zh:黄河小浪底)
- Luoyang Guanlin (zh:关林)
- Shaolin Temple (少林寺)
- Dengfeng Observatory (Guanxingtai, 观星台)
- Luoyang Museum (商城博物馆)
- Luoyang Tomb Museum (Gumu Bowuguan, 古墓博物馆)
- Longyuwan National Forest Park (洛阳龙峪湾国家森林公园)
- Yanshi Shang City Museum (洛阳偃师商城博物馆)
[edit] Hotels
[edit] Budget
[edit] Mid Range
- Luoyang International Financial Hotel
- New Juhe Hotel
- Xiaolangdi Hotel
- Xiaolangdi Mansion
- Zhougengyuan Hotel
[edit] Luxury
[edit] Restaurants
- Image, on Lian Meng Lu in the western Jianxi district of Luoyang. A western bar and restaurant owned by a Swiss expat who is not around much, but the food is great and the service about the same as anywhere else in China. The staff speaks English fairly well, one pool table, and decent music selection. Fridays will usually find a good selection of foreign teachers and other expats for dinner and pool. Hours 10am-12pm Tues-Sun Monday the bar opens at 5pm-12pm. The kitchen is only open 10am-1pm and then again from 5pm to around 9:30 or 10pm.
"Qian Ju De" Peking Duck Restaurant. Famous for Duck of course, but has many other delicious entrees.
--from wikitravel.org
[edit] Shopping
- Pet market , near the main street of Shanghai market. Dogs, cats, chickens, etc...
- Shanghai Market, a long street where you can find a lot of stuff such shoes (some very cheap), clothes, sports, dvds... All along the street there are mini malls at both sides of the street where you can find an endless stuff, electronic devices, mobiles, clothes, accessories, packages and many other things you may need.
- Walmart, in front of Shanghai Market. Many western products.
- Wan Fu Qin - A big mall like any you can find, in Europe.
In any street all along Luoyang you can find a lot of small shops, where you can buy tobacco, drinks, alcoholic drinks, or ice cream.
--from wikitravel.org
[edit] Night Life & Entertainment
In Luoyang you can find a huge selection of restaurants, but there aren't so many bars and clubs. If you want to drink bai jiu (Chinese liquor called "liquor of the dead") you should go to a restaurant, because clubs don't carry it.
- Ai Pai, on the third floor of Xin Du Hui commercial center. They also have private rooms and it's quite big. They have live music for dancing, gogo girls and a cocktail guy's show is really nice. Full bar with a nice cocktail selection. They close about 2:00.
- Art Bar, in Zhu Jiang Nan Lu. This is not for dance but for drink. They have many tables and a second floor with private rooms and a pool. They have many artists that sing and play live music from 9:30pm. Full bar plus popcorn or fruit. On the same street there are a few bars, all of them with live music and a variety of drinks.
- Come Bar, near Shanghai Market. Private minirooms popular with couples. Romantic or slow music. You can drink, have an ice-cream or eat something.
- Lan Mei, in Nan Chang Lu. Disco where you can drink beer, vodka, rum or many other spirits seated at a table. They also have private rooms with karaoke. At 22:00 they start to play music for dance. It has a bouncing floor so you can follow the rhythm easily. They have gogo girls that dance 5 minutes every hour more or less. They close about 1:30.
- Mirage Bar, near Shanghai Market, on the same street as Walmart. A quiet bar where you can talk and drink. Full bar.
--from wikitravel.org
[edit] Sports & Recreation
[edit] Luoyang food
[edit] The water banquet
The dishes of a Water Banquet are served in an interesting way. There are 24dishes in all. First served are eight cold dishes: four meats and four vegetables. Another four dishes are reserved for the end of the meal. The remaining 12dishes are brought up in four groups, each consisting of three dishes that are similar in taste, one of which is the main dish and the other two are side dishes. This way of serving is amusingly called "a father taking his two sons to court-,,In the first group or course, the main dish is the Luoyang Swallow Dish," made from shredded radishes, shredded chicken, minced pork, and various vegetables boiled in thin soup. It is said that Empress Wu Zetian liked this dish so much that after tasting it she cared for no other meat dish for three months. The main dish in the second group is called Happiness for the Whole Family," a braised mixture of different kinds of meat and vegetables. The main dish of the third group is the Height-Treasure Rice Pudding with Honey-,and that of the fourth group is" Sour and Spicy Egg Soup-,,The side dishes include Field Snail Meat, (meat cut and shaped like the meat of field snails),"Shoulder of Pork Cooked in spy Sauce" "Boiled Whole Chicken,""Turtle and Chicken,""Steamed Otlails,"etc."Swallow Dish-, represents the spring swallow, which is a symbol-of hope. "Happiness for the Whole Family," as the name suggests, is a means of expressing good wishes to the guests and their families. The "Eight-Treasure Rice Pudding, is la wish for rich harvests. And the egg soup, sometimes called the "Farewell soup," tells that the banquet is nearly over and the host wishes his guests a pleasant journey home.
The Water Banquet can also be modified and served as an ordinary facility dinner.
[edit] Liu Xiu Porridge
Liu Xiu was the founder of the Eastern Han. Before he became emperor, he was once badly defeated by Wang Mang, emperor of the Xin dynasty, and had to flee for his life. During his night he became so hungry that he begged a peasant for a bowl of porridge and it tasted real good at the time. Years later, when he had become emperor and had satiated himself with every kind of del1cacy,he suddenly remembered that tasty bowl of porridge he had eaten at the road side and ordered the imperial chef to prepare the porridge for him. The chef made inquiries and found out that the porridge was made from the kernels of a special kind of wheat grown in Luoyang. He obtained a supply of those kernels and prepared a porridge seasoned with such delicacies as swallow's nest and lotus seeds and with green plums and about a dozen other kinds of preserved fruit. This porridge is both tasty and nourishing-it is a popular treat that has been given the name Liu Xiu's porridge
[edit] Steamed Dumplings
These dumplings were first made in xian'an County of Henan Province. The stuffing is minced ham mixed with broth and various seasonings. The wrappers are dough prepared with water that has lust boiled and are rolled out into very thin pieces. The dumplings are shaped like crescent moons. They are steamed for about ten minutes in a bamboo steamer and then served. Two characteristics of such dumplings are their thin wrapping –"as thin as paper", --and jade-like color.
[edit] The Potted Dish
This is also called the mixed dish, whose ingredients include fried, steamed, and boiled meat balls, fish fried with dough, swallow's nest, meat quick fried in starch, crisp meat, fillet, fried bean curd, fuzhu (dried bean curd), fungus, yulan pian(Slices of tender bamboo shoots) etc.,all half-cooked. These are put into a small earthern pot, to which fresh broth, scallion stalks, and other seasonings are added. The mixture IS then stewed over a slow fire. This is a traditional New Year's dish of LuoYang people.
[edit] Starched Noodles
This is made from the bean milk obtained when mung beans are ground to make vermicelli .The milk is allowed to ferment at a suitable temperature and then heated to about 80C when mushroom-like foam appears on the surface. After a small amount of sesame oil has been stirred in, the milk is heated further until it boils-Small quantities of vegetables and noodles are then added and the mixture is boiled to a paste. This is seasoned with chili oil and a preparation of salt, chopped scallion, green beans,peanuts,leek,and celery.It is a dish suitable for both old and young.
