2021 Self-Drive Tour: Flower-Viewing Trip through Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, and Yunnan - Luoyang Peony Festival, Yingtian Gate, and White Horse Temple

Departed from Changsha at 7:47 AM on April 7, arrived at Luoyang Peony Hotel at 4:35 PM.

The hotel is a bit old—the hand soap dispenser was broken, the phone was broken, the bedside lamp was broken, and some things couldn't even be repaired!

However, the hotel is very close to Wangcheng Park, just a 5-minute walk.

On the way, I asked a friend in Luoyang for advice: where to see the flowers? And what else to visit? Eventually, I decided on Wangcheng Park and China National Garden of Peonies for the peonies, in the evening go to Yingtian Gate to see the lights, and if there's time, drop by the Luoyang Museum. On the way back, stop at White Horse Temple to burn some incense and pray for "world peace" and such!

In the evening we took a taxi to Yingtian Gate to see the lights. However, due to the rehearsal for the Peony Festival opening ceremony, the lights at Yingtian Gate were not turned on! The performances at Yingtian Gate were still going on, but they had to perform in the dark!

So I only took the photos below (Yingtian Gate ticket 30 yuan, includes viewing some performances).

Below is a view of the rehearsal venue for the Peony Festival.

Below is a street shot of Yingtian Gate.

I didn't expect Yingtian Gate's night scene to be so beautiful.

On April 8, after a 5-minute walk, we arrived at Wangcheng Park at 8:25 AM (ticket 20 yuan/person).

Look closely at the green peonies!!!

Around 10 AM we left Wangcheng Park, took a 20-minute taxi ride to China National Garden of Peonies (ticket 10 yuan/person).

Around 1:10 PM we left China National Garden of Peonies and walked 25 minutes to Luoyang Museum.

Around 6 PM we went to eat Luoyang Water Feast, ordering a small set meal of four items.

I've never had a full authentic Luoyang Water Feast before; next time I'll definitely gather more people to fulfill the dream of the 8+16 [dishes].

On April 9, we left the hotel at 7:43 AM and arrived at the White Horse Temple parking lot at 8:27 AM.

White Horse Temple ticket 35 yuan/person.

Above is the old White Horse Temple. Below are three gardens donated by foreign countries: Thailand, Myanmar, and India (the Indian one is not open).

This last one is the Indian garden.

We left at 9:38 AM and arrived home around 6 PM.

Very satisfied with the Luoyang trip. However, for the Luoyang peonies, I recommend only going to one place per day, otherwise you'll get sick of seeing them!

But in the end, here's a video of the Luoyang peonies—they are truly beautiful!

This self-drive tour ends here. See you next time!