Henan Travel Diary: Luoyang

Taking the high-speed train from Zhengzhou East Station, arriving at Luoyang Longmen High-Speed Railway Station at 1:10 PM. After checking into the hotel and dropping off luggage, I took a taxi to the Longmen Grottoes scenic area. Entering from the northwest service area, I walked past the food street and crossed Longmen Bridge to start the tour of the West Hill Grottoes. This is the core of the Longmen Grottoes, with main highlights including: Qianxi Temple, Binyang Three Caves, Ten Thousand Buddhas Cave, Lotus Cave, Fengxian Temple, and the Vairocana Buddha (known as the "Mona Lisa of the East"). After touring the West Hill Grottoes, I crossed Yique Bridge, where the spectacular panoramic view of the West Hill Grottoes is on the opposite bank, then visited the East Hill’s Kanjing Temple, Leigutai Three Caves, and Xiangshan Temple in sequence. By the time the Longmen Grottoes tour ended, it was already 6:00 PM. I immediately took a taxi from the northeast service area to Luoyi Ancient City. Here, young people dressed in ancient costumes for travel photography were everywhere; although the "Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers" performance was brief, it attracted many tourists who stopped to watch and cheered enthusiastically. The next morning in Luoyang, I took a taxi to Baima Temple, China’s first government-established temple. The entire Baima Temple scenic area is divided into the ancient temple buildings area, Qiyun Pagoda Garden, Indian Buddha Hall Garden, Thai Buddha Hall Garden, and Burmese Buddha Hall Garden. The ancient temple buildings area of Baima Temple, from south to north, includes the Shanmen Gate, Heavenly King Hall, Great Buddha Hall, Mahavira Hall, Jinyin Hall, and Qingliang Terrace, with auxiliary buildings such as the Bell and Drum Towers and Yunshui Hall on both sides. It gave me a feeling of being low-key yet majestic; the Qiyun Pagoda Garden is located about 200 meters southeast outside the Shanmen Gate, with the Qiyun Pagoda originally built during the Eastern Han Dynasty; the Indian, Thai, and Burmese gardens offer a glimpse into exotic Buddhist cultures. In the afternoon, I had planned to visit the Luoyang Museum, but unfortunately, it was closed, which was very disappointing. After a stroll around the Sui and Tang City Ruins Botanical Garden nearby, I took the subway to the Lijingmen scenic area. Unfortunately, the roads inside the scenic area were under repair, so I could only climb the city tower to admire the majestic view of Lijingmen. After descending from the tower, it was almost evening, so I took the subway from Lijingmen Station to Yingtianmen Station. The Mingtang and Tiantang scenic area and Yingtianmen scenic area are actually separated by just one street. When I arrived, the lights were already on, and the night views of the two scenic areas were spectacular. Inside Mingtang and Tiantang, everything was resplendent with gold and jade, while the exterior of Yingtianmen was imposing, making me feel as if I were in the prosperous Tang Dynasty.