2 Days in Luoyang During National Holiday
A classmate's hometown is Luoyang, and he got married on October 7. Since I had never been to Luoyang, I decided to take a trip.
Plan: Main attractions include Longmen Grottoes, Luoyang Museum, Mingtang, and Luoyang Ancient City. The classmate is from Mengjin, so I would go to Mengjin for the wedding.
Ticket purchase: It coincided with the National Day holiday. I didn't take extra leave. The wedding was on the 7th, I planned to sightsee on the 6th, so I had to depart on the 5th. Once the dates were set, I booked tickets. Let me describe the booking process. Tickets for the 5th were easy to get. I wanted to save some money, and since I wasn't in a hurry, I booked a direct train (green air-conditioned hard seat) departing around 3 PM. It took about 8 hours, and I arrived at Luoyang Station at 11 PM. The return ticket was quite thrilling—I used various apps to snatch tickets, tried to find a connecting train via Zhengzhou but failed, and finally grabbed a business class seat (twice the price of a second-class seat). It was expensive, but there was no other option due to lack of tickets.
Accommodation that night: After getting off the train, I navigated to the hotel I had booked earlier. I had reserved a special-price room at Jinjiang Inn (about 90-something, let's say 100 RMB). It's a chain hotel, not high-end but with good value for money. It took about 10 minutes to walk there. I checked in, freshened up, and went to sleep. Had to wake up early the next morning for Longmen.
October 6: From Luoyang Railway Station to Longmen Grottoes:
Route: Got up at 6:30 AM, left around 7:00 AM (took the free bottled water from the hotel; water in Jinjiang rooms is complimentary). I used Didi—very convenient. The driver was familiar with the route and analyzed whether to take the elevated road or not; we ended up taking the elevated road to save time. We were worried that the scenic area might be crowded, so arriving early could help us avoid queues. (The Didi fare from Luoyang Railway Station to Longmen Grottoes was 48 RMB, 23 minutes.)
Longmen Grottoes: From the main road to the visitor center there was still a long distance, but since we arrived early, there was little traffic, and the driver dropped us off right at the visitor center entrance. To get to the grotto entrance, there were two options: a tourist shuttle or walking. It was cold that morning, and I wanted to save energy, so we took the shuttle (10 RMB per person, departing when full). I had booked tickets online in advance (90 RMB per person via WeChat official account). (A small incident: The tickets I saw on Ctrip were bundled with a guide, about 120 RMB, with three morning sessions. I chose the earliest one. It had free cancellation before 9 PM the night before. The night before, they called about the meeting time, but since the crowd was not large, they canceled the earliest session. To avoid delaying my itinerary, I had to cancel, but there was a cancellation fee. I contacted customer service and got a refund.) I had always wanted to experience the grandeur of the grottoes—I was truly amazed at how so many Buddha statues were created. It was magnificent. We tried to visit as much as possible. The tour took about 3 hours.
Lunch: After exiting the grottoes, we could take the shuttle again, but it seemed to cost extra, so we walked back to the visitor center, passing through a residential area with restaurants. We had noodles (a bowl about 20-30 RMB, richer options around 40 RMB per person).
From Longmen Grottoes to Luoyang Museum:
Route: After lunch, we called Didi. The driver accepted quickly and was nearby. We told him the general location, and he came to pick us up (24 RMB, 21 minutes).
Luoyang Museum: Looks magnificent. I made a free reservation online in advance; without a booking, no entry if spots are full. The museum has two floors; we walked through each hall. It narrates Luoyang's development and its role in advancing Chinese carving art (I'll leave you to explore the details, I can't explain it well). What impressed me most was the painting of Luoyang peonies. There is a dedicated hall exhibiting peony paintings by a master. This master is very famous; his paintings hang in the Great Hall of the People. I was in awe. The entire visit took 2 hours (by this time, I had set my sights on the peony paintings…).
From Luoyang Museum to Mingtang & Tiantang:
Route: We rested a bit and then took Didi to Mingtang. Mingtang is built on the original site, with Chengtianmen in front. The 2020 Mid-Autumn Festival Gala was staged at Chengtianmen. This area is planned as a scenic spot and also has subway construction, so it was quite congested. (16 RMB, 20 minutes.)
Mingtang & Tiantang: Tickets were booked online, 120 RMB per person (upon reflection, this ticket price is quite high and not great value; take note). Built during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian. Inside, it is very grand and luxurious. Female aesthetics are more refined; the carvings on doors and decorations reflect women's preferences (I can't articulate the difference). Tiantang (Heavenly Hall) has exhibits on each floor related to religious beliefs. The murals upon entry were stunning and beautiful. We took the elevator from the top floor (only 5 people per ride, long queue; stairs are faster but many floors). From the top, Luoyang looked beautiful—it felt like surveying my own kingdom, experiencing what an emperor might have felt. The basement floor has original site pits for those interested. The visit took about 1-2 hours.
From Mingtang to Luoyang Railway Station:
Route: It was almost 5 PM. A classmate was coming from elsewhere to Luoyang, so we went to pick him up and head to Mengjin together. Called Didi (6 RMB, about 10 minutes).
From Luoyang Railway Station to Mengjin: Didi driver + navigation; my classmate paid, about 90 RMB.
Mengjin: My classmate had booked rooms. We checked in and waited for everyone to gather before going out for dinner, but the early-arriving classmates had gone to play in the mountains and got stuck in traffic. The groom classmate came to find us and took us for a walk (heading toward his wedding hotel). Mengjin is not big; we could walk to the hotel. He came to chat with us, then we split up halfway—he went to attend to wedding matters, and we looked for a restaurant. We weren't familiar with the area, so we checked Dianping and followed navigation to a decent nearby restaurant that was open. Taxis within Mengjin were cheap. As outsiders arriving late, we preferred taking taxis. After eating and chatting, we returned to the hotel to sleep; there were tasks the next morning.
October 7 morning: Wedding ceremony, omitted. (But I'll mention the flowing banquet—truly continuous serving: first cold dishes, then hot dishes, then soup-like dishes similar to hulatang, with varying ingredients. They served about 7, 8, 9, or 10 bowls of soup—I don't remember exactly, but a lot. It was a genuine flowing banquet.)
From Mengjin to Luoyi Ancient City: Left at noon, took Didi to Luoyi Ancient City (recommended by a driver). (73 RMB, 62 minutes. Why so long? Because the hotel location in Mengjin was not correctly pinned on the map—a reminder: the driver spent some time finding us, and there was also traffic near Luoyi Ancient City, making it longer.)
Luoyi Ancient City: At the entrance, there was a tourism booth where you scan a QR code to enter in groups of five. Inside, there were hills, water, shops, like a big garden—probably built later. Many shops rented Tang-style costumes; young people dressed up and took photos, very nice. It's also a good place to take kids. Many local painters were painting on the spot. There were sellers of wine, paintings, and flower-shaped pastries. We didn't buy anything because we didn't want to carry heavy stuff. I regretted it later—I had nothing to share with colleagues back home. Consider according to your needs. I felt the local residents were lucky to have this as their backyard. We wandered for about an hour; one classmate went to the train station on his own. Our train was at 7 PM, so we weren't in a hurry. After coming out, we first went to McDonald's/KFC to sit. Sigh, the route looked short on the map but walking it felt long. Passing by the snack street was okay.
From Luoyang city to Luoyang High-Speed Rail Station: After a short rest, we took Didi to the station (42 RMB, 24 minutes).
Boarded the high-speed train and ended our Luoyang trip. (The return business-class seat, purchased a few stops earlier, cost over 700 RMB per person—very expensive.)
Follow-up: Peony paintings: After returning home, on November 1, I found a store in Luoyang online and bought two paintings. (I'm not an expert, but I think local painters shouldn't be too bad. If you plan to hang them immediately, buy framed ones; unframed ones don't look good on walls. I didn't buy framed ones because I'd have to get frames made separately—too troublesome.)
