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Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province, People's Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.
Situated on the central plain of China, one of cradles of the Chinese civilization, Luoyang was one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China.
Names
Luoyang has had several names over the centuries, including "Luoyi" and "Luozhou", though Luoyang has been its primary name. It has been called, during various periods, "Dongdu" (meaning the Eastern Capital, during the Tang Dynasty), "Xijing" (meaning the West Capital, during the Song Dynasty), or "Jingluo" (meaning the general capital for China).
The origin of the name "Luoyang" is the city's location to the north of the Luo River.
History
The original city was constructed by the Duke of Zhou in the 11th century BC as a settlement for the remnants of the captured Shang nobility and was named Chengzhou. It became the capital of the Zhou Dynasty in 770 BC. The city was destroyed in a civil war in 510 BC and rebuilt the next year at the request of the king.
In AD 25, Luoyang became the capital of Eastern Han Dynasty. For several centuries, Luoyang was the center of gravity of China.
In AD 68, the White Horse Temple, the first Buddhist temple in China, was founded in Luoyang. The temple still exists, though the architecture is of later origin, mainly from the 16th century. An Shihkao was one of the first monks to popularize Buddhism in Luoyang.
In AD 190, Chancellor Dong Zhuo ordered his soldiers to ransack, pillage and raze the city as he retreated from the coalition set up against him by regional lords from across China. The court was subsequently moved to the more defensible western city of Chang'an. Following a period of disorder, Luoyang was restored to prominence when Emperor Wen of the Wei Dynasty declared it his capital in AD 220.
The Jin Dynasty, successor to Wei, was also established in Luoyang. When Jin was overrun by invaders and forced to move its capital to Jiankang (modern day Nanjing), Luoyang was nearly totally destroyed.
In AD 493 the Northern Wei Dynasty moved its capital from Datong to Luoyang and started the construction of the rock-cut Longmen Grottoes. More than 30,000 Buddhist statues from the time of this dynasty have been found in the caves. Many of these sculptures were two-faced. The Empress Dowager Wenming tomb was built here.
Administration
The prefecture-level city of Luoyang administers 6 districts, 1 county-level city and 8 counties.
* 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
Culture
The Longmen Grottoes were listed by UNESCO in the list of World Heritage Sites in November 2000. White Horse Temple is located 12km east of the modern town. Guanlin is a series of temples that have been built in honor of a hero of the Three Kingdoms period, Guan Yu, close to the grottoes to the south of the city. China's only tombs museum, the Luoyang Ancient Tombs Museum is situated north of the modern town. Luoyang Museum is in the center of town.
Luoyang is also famous for the Water Banquet Shui Xi, which consists of 8 cold and 16 warm dishes cooked in various broths, gravies or juices, hence its name.
Luoyang has a reputation as a cultivation centre for peony (city flower of Luoyang).
An ancient Chinese musical piece, Spring in Luoyang, was adopted in Korea during the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), and is still performed in its Koreanized (Dangak) version, called Nakyangchun. The American composer Lou Harrison created an arrangement of this work.
Colleges and universities
* Luoyang College of Technology
* Henan University of Science and Technology
* Luoyang Normal College
* Luoyang PLA College of Foreign Languages
Famous residents
* Gao Hong, pipa player
* Ma Jinfeng, Henan Opera player
Sister cities
* Okayama, Japan, since April 6, 1981
* Tours, France, since April 6, 1981
* Buyeo, South Korea, since August 13, 1996
* La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA
* Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Bulgaria
Get in
By Plane
Luoyang Airport (IATA: LYA) is located over 10 km north of the city center. Flights are available to Beijing and Shanghai.
By Train
Location - at the northern end of Jinguyuan Lu
* Beijing - takes about 11 hours
* Guangzhou - takes about 24 hours
* Shanghai - takes about 17 hours
* Wuhan - takes about 08 hours
* Xian - takes about 5-6 hours
By Bus
Location - across plaza from train station , corner Jinguyuan Lu and Daonan Lu
* Anyang - takes about 4 hours
* Guangzhou - takes about 27 hours
* Jinan - takes about 9 hours
* Kaifeng - takes about 4 hours
* Taiyuan - takes about 8 hours
* Xian - takes about 4 hours
* Zhengzhou - takes about 2 hours
Get around
See
* Ancient Han Tombs Museum - fascinating museum with reconstructed and unearthed tomns from the Western Han dynasty to the Northern Song dynasty
* Baima Si (White Horse Temple) - first officially sanctioned Buddhist temple
* Guanlin - temple commemorating Guan Yu, great warrior of the Kingdom of Shu time period
* Longmen Shiku (Dragon Gate Grottoes) - on the banks of the river Yi and considered to be one of the the great sculptural treasure sites in China and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
* Luoyang Museum - very well done museum
* Wangcheng Gongyuan - site of the Luoyang Peony Festival in April, something not to be missed
Do
* Luoyang has a long, beautiful ancient store street with fully functioning stores, a lot like Pingyao, another incredible visit
Eat
Luoyang has a western bar and restaurant on LianMengLu called mage, 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. The bar is located in the western Jianxi district of Luoyang. Hours 10am-12pm Tues-Sun Monday the bar opens at 5pm-12pm. The cook only comes on at 10am-1pm ish and then again at 5pm to 9:30pm 10pm ish. Fridays will usually find a good selection of foreign teachers and other expats for dinner and pool.
