Journey through Ancient Capitals: From Qin to Song

📍 Luoyang · 👁 8310 reads · ❤️ 30 likes

Because my daughter wanted to experience a sleeper train, we chose the Z86 train, departing Hangzhou at 16:43 and arriving in Xi'an at 9:12. On Friday afternoon, July 9th, we set off from Hangzhou Station. This train made several stops along the way—Haining, Jiaxing, Suzhou, Wuxi—stopping at each station one by one, and didn't reach Nanjing until around 9 p.m. After that, it ran non-stop straight to Xi'an. So at Nanjing Station, we got off and stretched our legs. Fortunately, it was the 9th, and we felt quite relieved because later, back in Hangzhou, we heard that there was a COVID outbreak in Nanjing after the 10th, and anyone who had been to Nanjing after July 10th had to report.

Departing in the evening and arriving in the morning—the best part is waking up already at the destination. After exiting the station, we took a shuttle to the subway, then Line 2 to Zhonglou Station. Emerging from the subway exit, we were right at our booked hotel, the Zhonglou Sunda Hotel. Our room had a view directly facing the Bell Tower, with the Drum Tower and Huimin Street nearby—very convenient.

For our first stop, we walked to Huimin Street, entering from Beiyuanmen. It was mainly about eating and strolling, and there were many tourists. We had lunch there, tasting the roujiamo (meat sandwich), which was quite good. Midway, we visited the Gao Family Courtyard to watch a shadow puppet show, which was suitable for kids. However, the dialogue was in Shaanxi dialect, and without subtitles, it was hard to understand. We walked south from the Drum Tower to exit, arriving at Century Golden Flower, which had some shops. Since it started raining, we walked back to the hotel to rest. In the evening, the Bell Tower looked even more beautiful after its lights came on.

The next morning, it was raining outside, and there happened to be the Copa América final (Argentina vs. Brazil), so we stayed in the room to watch the match. After the match, the rain stopped. We checked the weather forecast, which predicted more rain in the afternoon, so we quickly took advantage of the clear weather to visit the city wall. We first checked out, left our luggage at the front desk, and walked to the South Gate. After climbing the city wall, we noticed that the Atour Hotel was right next to it—next time we come to Xi'an, we could stay there for a great view of the wall. The wall felt very historic, and against the blue sky and white clouds, it was beautiful. We wandered a bit and found a bicycle rental point. The wall is large, so we cycled and explored.

We rode down to Zhongshan Gate and arrived at Yongxingfang. We had planned to eat there, but it still felt too touristy, so we took a taxi to the South Gate area for lunch. One mall that left a deep impression was Zhongda International, with many shops and indoor streets ideal for photos, such as the Starbucks Reserve on the first floor and the Sanlian Bookstore on the fifth floor, where the spiral staircase was very beautiful.

From Zhongda International, we went to Shuyuanmen. In the evening, we returned to the hotel to pick up our luggage, took the subway to Banpo, and checked into Yinling Hotel. It was more like a homestay; the accommodation was average—the worst hotel of this trip. But its advantage was being right at the subway entrance, making it convenient to visit the Terracotta Warriors the next day. The Banpo neighborhood nearby didn't have much atmosphere.

We had booked a small group tour (ticket + guided tour) on Ctrip beforehand. The guide had contacted us the night before to arrange the meeting time and place. Since we had an early start, we arranged breakfast with the front desk the previous day. We got up early, checked out, and had breakfast. The hotel breakfast was excellent—one set per person, with both Chinese and Western options. We left our luggage at the front desk, took the subway to Huaqing Pool station, then took a taxi to the Terracotta Warriors' Parking Lot 1, meeting by the statue of Qin Shi Huang. Our group consisted of about five families. After gathering, the guide led us into the site. There were quite a few people, and we spent a lot of time queuing. I had visited over a decade ago and felt it hadn't changed much, but having a guide this time was very helpful for the explanations.

We returned to the hotel to get our luggage, then took the subway to Dayan Pagoda station, and a taxi to the Yajia Hotel (Tang Dynasty City Walk Branch)—the best hotel of this trip. Upon check-in, they gave us a free upgrade, and from the window we could see the Dayan Pagoda. After settling in and resting a bit, we walked to the North Square of Dayan Pagoda to watch the music fountain and the不倒翁 (tumbler) performance. The tumbler performance was on the west side of the North Square. When we arrived, the performance hadn't started yet, but people were already packed several layers deep. We found a high spot a bit farther away. After the performance ended and the crowd dispersed, we saw a long line already forming for the next show. The Tang Dynasty City Walk truly lives up to its reputation—we strolled from the North Square all the way to the South Square, with a variety of performances popping up all along the way.

Tickets for the Shaanxi History Museum are very hard to get. You have to reserve 14 days in advance on their WeChat public account, and they sell out almost instantly. I was lucky enough to get three tickets. In the morning, we first had breakfast at the hotel—the breakfast was very rich, thumbs up. After eating, we took a taxi to the museum. We picked up tickets on the west side of the main gate, entered from the south gate. Once inside the hall, we found the tour guide booking service. You can join a small group; the group size is no more than 10. Our group of 9 included our family and two other families. The guide led us through the basic exhibition halls on the first floor, covering prehistoric, Zhou, and Qin periods; the second floor covered Han, Wei-Jin, and the prosperous Tang and later Shaanxi. We also paid extra to visit the Tang Dynasty Treasures Hall. It took about three hours to complete the tour.

Exiting from the west gate, we walked to the Saige International Shopping Center, which boasts a so-called "Asia's Longest Escalator," very lengthy.

In the afternoon, we visited the Natural Museum. After finishing, we walked to Shaanxi Normal University. Due to the pandemic, the school wouldn't allow entry, so my wife couldn't visit her alma mater as she had wished. We could only take photos at the gate, then took a taxi back to the hotel to rest. We had planned to visit the Tang Paradise, but we couldn't make a reservation on its WeChat public account, so we gave up. Who knows when this pandemic will end. In the evening, we walked to the Grand Epoch City Wai Po Jia restaurant for dinner, then visited the Tang Dynasty City Walk again.

Every time we travel, visiting prestigious local universities is a must. In Xi'an, Xi'an Jiaotong University was essential. We took a taxi to the north gate of Xi'an Jiaotong University. Again, due to the pandemic, entry was strictly controlled, and we couldn't go in, which was a pity. Opposite was Xingqing Palace, a large park. We entered from the south gate and exited from the east gate. There was a car to take us back to the hotel. We got off near the Xi'an Film Studio, which had a poster exhibition. After the visit, we returned to the hotel to rest. Around 2 p.m., we checked out, took the subway to Xi'an North Station, and then the G1888 train from Xi'an North (16:10) to Huashan North (16:39). We had booked the Huazhushe·Huashanxia Homestay, which offered free pick-up from the station, but we had to reserve it one day in advance. When we got off the train, the driver was already waiting at the exit and quickly took us to the homestay. The service at the homestay was good, but it was a bit far from the city center and there weren't many good places to eat, so we had to take a taxi to Huayin city center for dinner and then back to the homestay. For more convenience, we could have chosen the Huamei Yajia Hotel, which had better conditions and was closer to the scenic area and the city.

The weather was quite hot. Initially, we planned to take the cable car up the mountain in the evening, watch the sunset on the mountain, stay overnight, and watch the sunrise the next day. However, all the overnight accommodations were fully booked, so we could only go up in the morning and come down in the afternoon. We bought tickets (entrance + cable car + mountain shuttle bus) on Ctrip. We got up early, checked out, left our luggage, and the homestay owner drove us to the scenic area entrance. We chose the route going up from the West Peak and down from the North Peak. This way, we mostly walked downhill, which was relatively easier. However, the mountain road from the scenic area to the West Peak cable car was quite long, and those prone to motion sickness should be careful. After getting off the bus, we had to walk uphill a bit to reach the cable car station. There was also a slide nearby that could save some energy. The cable car route was also quite long, and from the cable car, we could see the steepness of Huashan. After getting off the cable car and walking a few steps, we reached the summit of the West Peak. There were several routes on the mountain; an easier route was to go directly from the North Peak to the West Peak. A more comprehensive route was to visit the peaks in order: West, South, East, Central, and North—that's the one we took. At the South Peak, the line for the Plank Walk in the Sky was too long, so we didn't do it. But I went up to take a look; it was indeed very dangerous. Only one person can pass on the entire route, and everyone must reach the destination and return together before the next group can go, which is why the line was so long. A heavy-set person gave up after just a few steps. When we reached the East Peak, there was no line for the "Falcon's Flip" (Yaozifanshen), so I tried it. Going down was tricky because I couldn't see where to place my feet, so I had to be very careful. Coming back up was much easier. Continuing on, we reached the North Peak, and suddenly it started raining. The raincoats we brought finally came in handy. The rain soon stopped, and after the rain cleared, a rainbow appeared over the mountain. We were relatively fast; around 1 p.m., we were already on the North Peak cable car going down, having covered about 18,000 steps.

After getting off the cable car, we had to take a bus down the mountain. The homestay was closer to the East Gate. Instead of going all the way to the scenic area entrance, we got off at the East Gate and walked about 300 meters to the homestay. The owner sent a car to take us to Huashan North Station, where we took the G1972 train from Huashan North (14:36) to Luoyang Longmen (15:28). The hotel provided free pick-up service from the station, so we were taken to the Luoyang Molybdenum Du Li Hao Hotel.

After checking in, we went to the Zhengda International near Kaiyuan Lake for dinner. In the evening, we visited Lijingmen, Cross Street, and Yingtianmen, all of which looked great lit up at night.

With the Yi River as the boundary, the Longmen Grottoes are divided into two parts: the West Hill and the East Hill. The East Hill grottoes are mostly from the Tang Dynasty, while the West Hill grottoes were carved during the Northern Dynasties and the Sui-Tang period and are the essence of Longmen, including the Vairocana Buddha statue in Fengxian Temple and the "Twenty Grades of Longmen" in Guyang Cave. We chose to visit the West Hill first. Since we had just climbed Huashan, our legs were no longer obedient. Going up stairs was barely manageable, but coming down was very difficult. Therefore, we could only look at many grottoes from a distance. Later, we learned that Longmen Grottoes have night tours, so we could have visited the previous evening when our legs weren't so stiff.

Leaving the grottoes, we took a taxi to the city center for lunch, returned to the hotel to rest for a bit. At 1 p.m., the hotel arranged a car to take us to Luoyang Longmen Station. There were direct high-speed trains from Luoyang to Kaifeng only in the morning, so we chose to transfer in Zhengzhou. We took G1926 from Luoyang Longmen (13:35) to Zhengzhou East (14:13), then transferred to G2858 from Zhengzhou East (14:50) to Songcheng Road (15:16). The intercity trains from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng are unassigned—you just sit wherever there's a seat, very convenient, and it took less than half an hour; it felt like the two cities have become integrated. After getting off the train, we took a taxi to the Jinshuimen Hotel reception at the Millennium City Park scenic area, exchanged our tickets, and under the staff's guidance, went to the dock to take a boat to the hotel. There are three hotels in the area; the one we stayed at, Mantingfang, is relatively newer. For families with children, note that each room only includes tickets for two adults; children need a half-price ticket to enter from the main gate, and then you meet up inside to go to the dock to take the boat. Upon check-in, we had our photos taken for facial recognition, so we could enter and exit unlimited times by scanning our faces. We strolled around the scenic area for a bit, then went to the city center to find food. As the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, Kaifeng's food has some similarities to Hangzhou—things like xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) are quite alike.

When we returned to the Millennium City Park, it was already lit up with lanterns, and the night scenery was beautiful. If you enjoy shows, there are large-scale song and dance performances.

Today was the last day of our trip. We got up early and wandered around the park. Since it had just rained, the morning in Kaifeng was a bit cool. When the park opened, the performances started in full swing. You can check the performance schedule on the WeChat mini-program. Following the map and watching the shows was great fun. The performance "Yue Fei Battles Little King Liang" was very exciting, giving a bit of nostalgia for the martial arts films of my childhood.

Around 12 p.m., we checked out, took a taxi to Kaifeng North Station. There were no direct trains to Hangzhou in the afternoon, so we chose to transfer in Shangqiu. We took G276 from Kaifeng North (13:45) to Shangqiu (14:19), then transferred to G3135 from Shangqiu (15:30) to Hangzhou East (20:20). You can order food delivery on the 12306 app, and it was delivered at Hefei Station. The G3135 goes towards Hefei. This transfer allowed us to once again perfectly bypass Nanjing and stay away from the pandemic.

This trip not only avoided the pandemic but also the severe rainstorms. We returned on the 17th, and on the 20th we saw news online about the torrential rains in Henan—several hours of rain equal to an entire year's worth. Many places were flooded, and people were stranded at train stations and airports. I remember when we first arrived in Kaifeng, the taxi driver said it was going to rain heavily, but no one imagined it would be this bad.

I hope the pandemic ends soon, so everyone's lives can return to normal.

Travel notes directory:

1. D1: Xi'an — Starting from Qin

2. D2: Xi'an City Wall

3. D3: Terracotta Warriors + Tang Dynasty City Walk

4. D4: Shaanxi History Museum

5. D5: Xi'an Jiaotong University + Huayin

6. D6: Huashan Scenic Area + Luoyang Lijingmen, entering Sui-Tang

7. D7: Longmen Grottoes + Kaifeng Millennium City Park, entering Northern Song

8. D8: Millennium City Park + Return, returning to Southern Song

Travel information:

Hotel index