Luoyang

Author: Editorial Board of "China Travel Guide"
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2001-04-01
Features: This book is one of the "China Travel Guide" series. It introduces readers to the general overview, travel itineraries, folk customs, scenic spots, and more of Luoyang. It also covers travel knowledge and services. The book is compact, beautifully designed, illustrated, and highly practical. "With a heart forever rooted in the River and Luo, the glorious legacy of our ancestors." Thousands of years ago, our ancestors began to thrive in this beautiful and prosperous land, engaging in fishing, hunting, and farming. In Luoyang, over ten ancient city ruins have been unearthed, including the Erlitou capital of the Xia Dynasty, the Yanshi Commercial City, the Eastern Zhou Royal City, the Han and Wei Luoyang City, and the Sui and Tang Eastern Capital City. These represent the essence of dynastic city construction and the development of the state-building system, earning them the title of the "Five Ancient City Ruins of Luoyang."
"The world's famous gardens are in Luoyang," and "Luoyang's peonies are the best under the heavens." Luoyang's gardens, numbering in the hundreds, range from majestic pavilions and towers reaching into the clouds to exquisite and delicate structures adorned with vibrant colors. Generations of scholars and poets have left their ink on ancient temples and cliffs, adding poetic charm to the city. The earliest historical documents of the Chinese nation, the He Tu Luo Shu (River Map and Lo Shu), originated in Luoyang. Fu Xi, revered as the "Humanity's Ancestor," created the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) and the Ji Chou (Nine Maps) based on the He Tu and Luo Shu. Ban Gu wrote China's first dynastic history, the Book of Han, here, while Sima Guang completed his monumental work, the Zizhi Tongjian, in the same city. The renowned "Seven Scholars of Jian'an" and "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove," as well as the "Twenty-Four Friends of the Jin Valley," once gathered here, composing magnificent works. A single essay, the Three Capitals Rhapsody by Zuo Si, once made "paper in Luoyang so expensive it was in short supply." Luoyang can be considered the starting point of Chinese culture.
Luoyang's famous attractions include: the Longmen Grottoes, White Horse Temple, Guanlin Temple, Ancient Tombs Museum, Qiantang Hall, Baiyun Mountain, Laojun Mountain, Jiguan Cave, and the Hometown of Xuanzang.