Welcome to Luoyang, one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China! Your local guide and driver will meet you at the train station or the airport and take you to visit Longmen Grottoes, which contains the largest and most impressive collection of Chinese art of the late Northern Wei and Tang Dynasties (316-907). The UNESCO World Heritage Site is densely scattered on the cliffs of Mount Longmen (West Hill) and Mount Xiangshan (East Mountain) – on two banks of Yi River. West Hill houses the major caves with notable displays of Buddhist sculptures and calligraphic inscriptions. The highlights include Bingyang Cave which tells a wealth of history and artistic value, Guyang Cave with over 1,000 Buddha statues and 800 calligraphy inscriptions, and Fengxian Temple – the largest cave with a 17.14-meter-tall sculpture of Vairocana Buddha.
Next, drive to Luoyang Museum which shows each kind of perspective on ancient Luoyang. There are more than 1,000 exhibits dating back to the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618 ~ 907) and even to the earliest prehistoric times (before the 21st century B.C.) in the informative display halls, such as exquisite tri-colored glazed potteries, various bronzeware, ancient clay sculpture, treasured calligraphy and paintings, etc.
After sightseeing, transfer to check in your hotel in Luoyang.
How to Get to Luoyang? It is available to take a flight to Luoyang from Beijing (2hrs), Shanghai (2hrs), Chengdu (2hrs), Chongqing (2hrs), Guangzhou (2.5hrs), etc., or take a high speed train to Luoyang from Xian (1.5hrs), Zhengzhou (40mins), Beijing (3.5hrs), Shanghai (5.5hrs), Nanjing (3.5 ~ 4 hours), Hangzhou (about 5.5 hours), Chengdu (5.5 ~ 6.5 hours)