Luoyang is the capital of Henan province in middle China, 322km (200 miles) E of Xi'an, 150km (93 miles) W of Zhengzhou. Yellow River, the second longest river in China after Yangtze River, goes by the city and has been breeding the area for thousands of years. Luoyang is one of the seven ancient capital cities in China's history. It served as the capital city for 13 dynasties of nearly 1600 years.

Peony, the national flower of China, Longmen Grottoes, and Shaolin Temple & Shaolin Martial Arts, are the name cards of Luoyang. Longmen Grottoes is a must-see for anyone interested in Buddhist art and sculpture. A visit in April will allow you to take in Luoyang's famous Peony Festival as well.

Longmen Grottoes. "Longmen" means "Dragon Gate". Longmen Grottoes, together with the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang (Gansu Province) and the Yungang Grottoes (Datong, Shanxi Province), are reputed as the three greatest stone sculpture treasure houses in China. In the year 2000, Longmen Grottoes was listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site.

The Longmen Grottoes were first sculptured and chiseled around 493AD when the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) was moved from Datong to Luoyang. The entire construction of Longmen Grottoes lasted more than four hundred years through the Northern Wei Dynasties, Sui Dynasty, Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty. Today, there are 2345 caves and niches, 100,000 Buddhist images, more than 2800 inscribed tablets, and 43 Buddhist pagodas. There are three major sites, namely Fengxian Temple, Guyang Cave and Lianhua Cave.

Shaolin Temple. Shaolin Temple is situated in the beautiful Songshan Mountain, which is only 20 miles southeast of Luoyang. Founded in AD 496 during the Northern Wei dynasty, the Shaolin Temple was built in honor of an Indian monk, who came to Luoyang for spreading Buddhism. Another legendary Indian monk is called Bodhidharma (known to the Chinese as Da Mo), founder of Chinese Chan (or Zen) Buddhism. This temple is therefore regarded as the birthplace of Chinese Buddhism. Shaolin Temple is probably the most famous temple in China, not only because of its long history and its role in Chinese Buddhism, but also because of its martial arts or Kung fu. Shaolin does have a long tradition of Chinese martial arts, as the saying goes "All martial arts (Kung fu) come from Shaolin." Russia's acting President Vladimir Putin visited Shaolin Temple in March 2006, which once again makes this temple the focus of Kung fu fans and travelers.

White Horse Temple. White Horse Temple (Baima Temple) is 12 km from Luoyang City. Established in 68 AD during Han Dynasty, this temple is believed to be the first Buddhist temple built in China. According to historical records, Mingdi Emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 - 220 AD) sent his ministers on a diplomatic mission to the west to learn Buddhism. Then they came back with two eminent Indian dignitary monks, and a white horse carried the sutra and the figure of Buddha. In order to memorialize the white horse's contribution of taking back the sutra, Emperor Ming ordered the construction of the temple and named it White Horse Temple.