Travel Notes of Historical and Cultural Cities in the Central Plains
I have always wanted to visit the historical and cultural ancient cities in Henan, the 'heartland of the nine provinces'. In early autumn, I invited some friends and took the high-speed train heading to the Central Plains region. This time, we chose Luoyang, Kaifeng, Mount Song and the Shaolin Temple, among others, to experience the history, elegance and faith of these millennia-old capitals.
Day 1
At 1 PM, our high-speed train arrived at Luoyang Longmen South Station. We eagerly drove to the Longmen Grottoes, located about five kilometers away.
The Longmen Grottoes are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Divided by the Yi River, the grottoes consist of the West Hill and East Hill sections. The East Hill grottoes are mostly from the Tang Dynasty, while the West Hill grottoes, carved during the Northern Dynasties and Sui-Tang periods, are the essence of Longmen, including the Vairocana Buddha at Fengxian Temple and the 'Twenty Products of Longmen' in Guyang Cave.
The largest and most artistically refined 'Great Vairocana Image Niche' at Longmen Grottoes represents the sambhogakaya of Shakyamuni Buddha. It stands 17.14 meters tall, with a head height of 4 meters and ears 1.9 meters long. Because it belonged to the then-imperial Fengxian Temple, it is commonly called 'Fengxian Temple'.
Due to the hydrological conditions of the local mountain and human impact, the Longmen Grottoes are not as well-preserved as the Mogao Caves. Most of the polychrome paintings have been lost, and the Buddha statues are severely damaged. Some have even been stolen and are now scattered in museums around the world. Seeing this made me feel a bit sad and disappointed.
The Lotus Cave is named after a large, high-relief lotus carved on the ceiling, and was likely carved during the Northern Wei period. Buddhist grotto ceilings often feature lotus decorations, but such a large and exquisite high-relief lotus as seen in the Lotus Cave is rare even at Longmen.
The Longmen Museum houses 36 statues, 8 inscriptions, 48 sculptures, 32 artifacts, 64 porcelain pieces, 32 bronze items, 64 brick carvings, 16 stone carvings, and 160 calligraphy and stele inscriptions, making it a precious cultural heritage site in China.
Day 2
A heavy rain fell over Luoyang. We arranged a full day to visit several representative museums of the ancient capital: Luoyang Museum, Erlitou Xia Capital Site Museum, Grand Canal Museum, and the Ancient Tombs Museum. These places allowed us to fully experience Luoyang‘s long history and culture.
Given Luoyang's unique status as a capital for thirteen dynasties, it is no surprise that its museum collection includes many rare treasures. Although the Luoyang Museum is a prefecture-level museum, the quantity and quality of its collection can rival many provincial museums. Here, we fully immersed ourselves in the long history and culture of the ancient capital of Luoyang.
In the center of the exhibition hall, there is a fossil of an elephant. It is about 5.7 meters long and 2.8 meters high, the most complete fossil of a Palaeoloxodon found in western Henan. The Central Plains have long been closely associated with elephants; from the late Neolithic period through the Xia, Shang, Zhou, and even Han dynasties, elephant remains have been found in ancient relics in the region. The right half of the character 'Yu' (豫), the abbreviation for Henan Province, is the character for 'elephant' (象).
The above are some exhibits from the 'Fine Collection Exhibition'.
A special exhibition featured Luoyang peony paintings, titled 'National Beauty and Heavenly Fragrance'.
Having a strong interest in archaeology, I had known about Erlitou for a long time, and today I finally saw it. The Erlitou Xia Capital Site is an important historical witness. Historical records about the Xia Dynasty are limited, and cross-referencing among various records is somewhat lacking, requiring further excavation.
One of the museum's treasures worth seeing is turquoise, but unfortunately, the turquoise on display is not an authentic piece but a replica.
One of the must-see treasures at the museum is the 'First Jue of China', which was previously housed in the Luoyang Museum but was transferred to the Erlitou Museum after its completion.
The museum houses many other treasures as well. With nearly 4,000 years of cultural accumulation, Erlitou is a well-deserved platform for displaying Chinese civilization.
For Luoyang at that time, the excavation of the Sui-Tang Grand Canal greatly contributed to its becoming a political center. The Luo River was not just a river for water supply, irrigation, and transportation; leveraging its central position on the canal, Luoyang controlled the overall situation and governed the entire nation.
The Grand Canal is a giant '人' (human) character written by our ancestors on the land of China. As time passes and the world changes, with the advent of a new civilization, the function of the Grand Canal has declined. However, the spirit of using and transforming nature it embodies, along with the profound cultural connotations of the Chinese nation, still inspire us and serve as an inexhaustible source for our spiritual life.
An official boat sailing the Grand Canal, reproduced at a 1:2 scale.
The Ancient Tombs Museum, located at Mount Mang in the northern suburbs of Luoyang, is a thematic museum of ancient tombs and the first of its kind in the world. The museum is divided into three main exhibition areas: the tombs of successive dynasties, the imperial mausoleum of the Northern Wei, and the mural hall. It houses dozens of tomb chambers from various periods in Chinese history, all relocated from their original sites and reconstructed underground according to their original forms.
The Northern Wei imperial mausoleum, located in the western part of the museum, is centered on the 'Jingling' mausoleum of Emperor Xuanwu of the Northern Wei, and also includes relocated and reconstructed tombs of Prince Yuan Xie of Qinghe and Prince Yuan Cha of Jiangyang. The tumulus of Jingling is circular, with an earthen mound over twenty meters high. Visitors can walk along the passageway down to the center of the tomb chamber, where a coffin rests, but there are no items inside.
Despite the rain, we managed to visit Guanlin Temple at noon. It is not large, but the incense is very strong because it houses the head of Guan Yu. According to ancient feudal rites, the tomb of an emperor is called 'ling' (陵), the tomb of a prince or general is called 'zhong' (冢), and only the tomb of a sage can be called 'lin' (林). Over two thousand years, Guan Yu's status rose from general to Martial Sage; the only place comparable to 'Guanlin' is the Confucius Forest in Qufu, Shandong.
In the left pavilion of Guanlin Temple, Guan Yu's weapon, the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, is enshrined. The Green Dragon Crescent Blade weighs 82 jin (about 41 kg), also known as the 'Cold-Armed Saw', and was used by Guan Yu to slay many generals. Later generations also called it the 'Guan Dao'.
In the right pavilion, the Red Hare Horse is enshrined. Originally named 'Red Tu' (a fiery red horse fierce as a tiger), it was a majestic steed that could only be ridden by extraordinary men. It was the mount of Lü Bu; after Lü Bu's death, Cao Cao gave the Red Hare Horse to Guan Yu.
Day 3
Early in the morning, we hired a car to go to the Shaolin Temple, and in the afternoon we visited the White Horse Temple.
The Shaolin Temple is the birthplace of Chan (Zen) Buddhism in Chinese Buddhism. In 527 AD, the famous Indian monk Bodhidharma (Patriarch Dharma) came to Shaolin, sat in meditation and taught Dharma in the mountains behind the temple, advocating the Chan Buddhist teaching of 'mind-to-mind transmission', thus establishing the temple's lofty status as the Chan ancestral court.
It is often said that 'all martial arts under heaven originated from Shaolin.' Deeply influenced by Shaolin martial arts since childhood, I had always wanted to visit the Shaolin Temple. It is not only a sacred place of martial arts but also the ancestral court of Chan Buddhism. At the Shaolin Temple, we struck several classic martial arts poses for photos, and the clashing of swords in the jianghu seemed to flash before our eyes.
Visitors can use the Shaolin Temple combo ticket to watch a Shaolin martial arts performance at the Shaolin Temple Martial Arts Hall; each performance lasts half an hour.
Inside the Shaolin Temple scenic area, there are many martial arts schools of various sizes, with students practicing martial arts on the playground.
The Pagoda Forest is located about 400 meters west of the Shaolin Temple. It is the cemetery for the eminent monks of the Shaolin Temple throughout history. There is a Buddhist saying: 'Saving one life is better than building a seven-story stupa.' Here, you can learn about the lives of the successive eminent monks of the Shaolin Temple. (Out of respect, no photos were taken of the Pagoda Forest.)
The White Horse Temple was first built in the 11th year of the Yongping reign of the Eastern Han Dynasty (68 AD). It was the first temple built by the government after Buddhism was introduced to China, and it is traditionally honored as the 'ancestral court' and 'source of Buddhism' in China. According to legend, the temple's name comes from the story of 'the white horse carrying sutras'.
The White Horse Temple has suffered many wars and undergone several reconstructions. About 200 meters southeast of the main gate, there is the Qiyun Pagoda, originally built in the Eastern Han Dynasty and rebuilt in the Jin Dynasty. It is one of the few ancient Jin Dynasty buildings in the Central Plains region.
Day 4
At the recommendation of our hired driver, we visited the Longtan Grand Canyon, about 70 kilometers from Luoyang, in the morning, and went to the Xiaolangdi Water Control Project scenic area in the afternoon.
The Luoyang Longtan Grand Canyon is a national AAAAA-level scenic area, a national geopark, and the core scenic area of the Daimeishan World Geopark. It is a canyon scenic area dominated by typical red rock gorge landforms, and it is also the fifth national AAAAA-level scenic area in Luoyang.
Longtan Grand Canyon is known as 'China's First Gorge', 'Natural Museum of Ancient Oceans', 'Masterpiece of Canyons', and 'Gallery of the Yellow River Water'.
In the Luoyang Longtan Grand Canyon, gorges face each other, pools and waterfalls link like beads, cliffs stand thousands of feet tall, and the gorges are beautiful and secluded. Formed by 1.2 billion years of geological sedimentation and 2.6 million years of water cutting and erosion, the high gorges, urn-shaped valleys, and landscapes of mountain collapse and earth cracking are truly a wonder of the world and rarely seen in the human world.
One of the eight natural wonders: The Heavenly Monument.
Another natural wonder: The Yin-Yang Pool Urn Valley - Yin Rock.
Another natural wonder: The Yin-Yang Pool Urn Valley - Yang Rock.
Another natural wonder: Five-generation Ripple Stone.
One of the six natural mysteries: Water flowing uphill.
Another natural mystery: Buddha Light Arhat Cliff.
Another natural mystery: Celestial Writing on Stone.
The Yellow River Xiaolangdi Water Control Project scenic area is located at the exit of the last gorge in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. It is a national water conservancy scenic area and a 4A-level tourist attraction. The scale of the project is awe-inspiring!
The Xiaolangdi Dam is the largest sloping core rockfill dam with a clay core in China's water conservancy construction history. The dam is 1,667 meters long and 15 meters wide at the top. The builders used local materials, filling the ancient riverbed with gravel from both sides of the dam.
Isn't it said that a bowl of Yellow River water is half mud? And that one cannot wash clean even by jumping into the Yellow River? Coming to Xiaolangdi overturned my understanding of the Yellow River. It turns out that the Yellow River can also be green and clear. Sitting on the shuttle bus, we were greeted by the warm spring breeze and saw blue sky, clear water, green trees and grass. The scenery was truly beautiful!
Various scenic spots in Luoyang, each with a distinct style.
'Luoyi' is the ancient name of Luoyang. As a capital for thirteen dynasties, it has accumulated profound Chinese culture. Strolling through the ancient city of Luoyi, we saw layers of eaves, a harmonious mix of city walls, ancient courtyards, old trees — every spot left a lasting impression. Pavilions, terraces, towers, and small bridges over flowing water added a touch of tranquility and beauty.
Yingtianmen was the south gate of the palace city of Sui-Tang Luoyang. It was first built in the first year of the Daye reign of the Sui Dynasty (605 AD) and underwent four periods: Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, and Northern Song. In 1128, the second year of the Jianyan reign of the Southern Song, it was burned down by Jin soldiers, having been in use for 523 years.
The Hall of Light (Mingtang) and the Hall of Heaven (Tiantang) from the reign of Wu Zetian. The Hall of Light was located on the central axis of Sui-Tang Luoyang, serving as the main hall of the palace city and an important venue where Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Wu Zetian ruled the empire and governed the state.
The Sui-Tang Luoyang City National Heritage Park was once the core area of the palace city ruins of the Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, and Song dynasties.
'If you haven't been to Lijingmen, you haven't truly visited Luoyang.'
Lijingmen was first built in the Sui Dynasty and was the west gate of the ancient city of Luoyang. It enjoys the reputation of 'the first gate of the ancient capital'. The current Lijingmen scenic area was rebuilt on the original site of the Luoyang municipal government, consisting of the gate tower, barbican, arrow tower, city wall, Lijing Bridge, and moat.
Lijingmen is also the location of Luoyang‘s old street. Visitors can climb the tower to enjoy the view, taste local snacks, and learn about the long history of Heluo culture.
Day 5
Early in the morning, we took a high-speed train to Kaifeng. After dropping our luggage at the hotel, we began our exploration of ancient sites.
The Daxiangguo Temple in Kaifeng, originally named Jianguo Temple, is the place where Lu Zhishen uprooted a willow tree in the novel 'Water Margin'. The temple was first built in the sixth year of the Tianbao reign of Emperor Wenxuan of the Northern Qi (555 AD). In the first year of the Yanyan reign of the Tang Dynasty (712 AD), Emperor Ruizong of Tang, Li Dan, renamed it 'Xiangguo Temple' to commemorate his ascension from Prince Xiang to emperor, and personally wrote the plaque 'Daxiangguo Temple'. Daxiangguo Temple reached its unprecedented peak during the Northern Song Dynasty and was the imperial temple at that time. Most of the current buildings in Daxiangguo Temple have been rebuilt in recent years, and the scale of the temple is much smaller than in its heyday.
The Hall of Arhats in the temple, commonly known as the 'Octagonal Glazed Hall', is an octagonal cloister-style building. Inside the cloister, there is a large group sculpture of 'Shakyamuni Preaching to the Assembly', with 500 arhats in various poses and vivid expressions. In the center of the Hall of Arhats, there is an octagonal wooden pavilion containing a six-meter-tall wooden statue of the 'Thousand-Armed, Thousand-Eyed Guanyin' with four faces. The statue dates from the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty and was carved from a single ginkgo tree. Each face has six large hands and over two hundred small hands, each with a wisdom eye in the palm, totaling over a thousand — hence the name Thousand-Armed, Thousand-Eyed Buddha.
The Kaifeng Prefecture from the Northern Song Dynasty was once governed by Bao Zheng (Bao Qingtian). The Song Dynasty Kaifeng Prefecture was destroyed by floods long ago; the current Kaifeng Prefecture is a man-made scenic spot rebuilt in recent years as an imitation of ancient architecture.
Since the Jin and Yuan dynasties, the Bao Gong Shrine has existed in Kaifeng. The current Bao Gong Shrine was rebuilt on a new site in the 1980s. The Kaifeng Bao Gong Shrine is not large in area, consisting of a group of buildings in imitation of Song-style architecture, including the main hall, second hall, east and west side halls, half-wall corridor, and stele pavilions.
First built in the fifth year of the Taizong reign of the Yuan Dynasty (1233), originally called Chongyang Temple, it was built in memory of Wang Zhe, the founder of the Quanzhen School of Taoism. The Yuhuang Pavilion (Jade Emperor Pavilion) is the main building in the temple, three stories high and about 16 meters tall, made of brick in imitation of wooden structure. The top of the pavilion features a Mongolian yurt-style roof, ingeniously designed with a unique shape. In the top octagonal pavilion, a statue of the Jade Emperor is enshrined.
The Shan-Shaan-Gan Guild Hall was built with funds raised by merchants from Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces who lived in Kaifeng during the Qing Dynasty. It was built during the Qianlong reign and has a history of over 200 years.
The guild hall consists of a screen wall, theater stage, bell and drum towers, archway, main hall, and east and west side halls, with a strict layout, exquisite construction, and lavish decoration.
The most beautiful ancient architectural complex in Kaifeng: the Shan-Shaan-Gan Guild Hall. The brick carvings, wood carvings, and stone carvings of the Kaifeng Shan-Shaan-Gan Guild Hall are extremely exquisite; even nationwide, this is the most beautiful guild hall. There are not many ancient buildings preserved in Kaifeng, so it is worth a visit.
The Shan-Shaan-Gan Guild Hall emphasizes 'loyalty, righteousness, bravery, and benevolence' and worships Lord Guan (Guan Yu).
The restored Daliang City Gate.
The ancient city wall of Kaifeng is 14.4 kilometers long. It has been submerged many times in history. It was last repaired in the 21st year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty (1841), and the existing Kaifeng city wall still retains the architectural style and scale of the Yuan and Ming dynasties. To maintain the overall style of the famous historical and cultural city of Kaifeng, the local government has been renovating the ancient city wall since 1994. According to the plan of the cultural relics protection department, several city gates will be restored.
The Millennium City Park (Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden) is a cultural theme park modeled after Zhang Zeduan's famous painting 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' from the Song Dynasty, featuring the daily life and ancient entertainment of the Northern Song capital Bianliang (now Kaifeng). The park is divided into three parts: the Welcome Plaza, North Garden, and South Garden, recreating the bustling capital of Bianjing — a living version of 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival.'
Here, you will find yourself in a vast complex of imitation Song-style ancient buildings. Inside the park, you can see famous Northern Song structures such as Fuyun Pavilion, Rainbow Bridge, Shuixin Pavilion, Double Pavilion Bridge, and Nine-Dragon Bridge, as well as civilian facilities like restaurants, tea houses, pawnshops, and post stations. The park's staff and street vendors are all dressed in Song Dynasty costumes. All this can give you the illusion of stepping into the Northern Song capital of Dongjing Bianliang.
While wandering in the park, you can also watch a series of story-scene performances and folk shows with Northern Song characteristics, such as 'Bao Zheng Patrolling the Bianjing River', 'Wang Yuanwai Marrying Off His Daughter', 'Yue Fei Mustering Troops on the Battlefield', 'Cockfighting Competition', 'Stilt Walking', and 'Cuju Match'.
There are also various museums of different sizes in the park, displaying various exhibits for visitors to enjoy.
We entered the park at 3 PM and played for the whole afternoon. The night view is even more beautiful than the daytime view, so don‘t miss it.
Day 6
We got up especially early to stroll through the old streets of Kaifeng’s ancient city and climbed the Dragon Palace at the Dragon Pavilion Scenic Area. In the morning, we visited the Kaifeng Museum, and in the afternoon we made a special trip to the Zhou Bridge site to experience it, then packed up and went home.
Bookstore Street — there are not many streets in the world named after bookstores; one is the Jinbocho book district in Tokyo, Japan, and the other is Kaifeng‘s Bookstore Street.
Bookstore Street is only about 600 meters long, lined with two-story attic-style buildings with blue bricks and white mortar, small tile roofs, overhanging eaves, and sloping ridges, in a simple and elegant style.
Songdu Imperial Street Gate — the newly built imperial street was constructed on the original site of the imperial street. On both sides of the street, which is over 400 meters long, rows of shops and pavilions face each other.
Fan Lou, later renamed Fengle Tower, is located at the northern end of Songdu Imperial Street. According to legend, Fan Lou was the place where Emperor Huizong of Song met Li Shishi, one of the four famous courtesans in ancient China. The novel 'Water Margin' also describes this tower in many places.
The Dragon Pavilion is a well-known scenic spot in the ancient city of Kaifeng and a representative of Kaifeng‘s historical relics. However, it is not a pavilion but a hall built on a huge blue brick base 13 meters high. This was once the site of the imperial palaces of the Later Liang, Later Jin, Later Han, Later Zhou of the Five Dynasties, the Northern Song, and the Jin Dynasty.
Every golden autumn in October (mid-October to mid-November), as the main venue of the famous Kaifeng Chrysanthemum Culture Festival, the Dragon Pavilion scenic area is grandly arranged, with thousands of varieties of chrysanthemums vying for beauty. By the way, the chrysanthemum is the city flower of Kaifeng.
The Dragon Pavilion Main Hall is located in the Dragon Pavilion Park at the north end of Zhongshan Road in the Longting District of Kaifeng. It is part of the former site of the imperial rear garden of the Song Dynasty. The hall faces south, with a ceiling painted with blue cloud patterns and coiled dragons. The eaves are high and upturned, with wind bells hanging at the corners. The Dragon Pavilion Main Hall stands majestically on a high base, towering and magnificent.
The Kaifeng Museum is a local historical and artistic museum in China. It is a 'mountain' shaped imitation-ancient building with a single-eave hip-gable roof covered with yellow glazed tiles, elegant, dignified, and magnificent. The exhibition building covers an area of over 5,000 square meters, with a central hall of four stories, 13 exhibition halls, a warehouse area of 1,500 square meters, a collection of over 50,000 artifacts, and nearly 50,000 professional books, all very precious.
We visited the museum on a Saturday, which coincided with the curator’s lecture day. The museum curator was explaining the history and culture of Kaifeng city to the visitors.
A treasure of the museum: the 'Kaifeng Prefecture Title Inscription' stele.
Song Dynasty science and technology exhibition area: the Water-Driven Astronomical Clock Tower.
Millennium City Park exhibition area: 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival.'
Ming and Qing imperial artifacts.
Zhuxian Town New Year Picture exhibition area — one of China's four major New Year pictures.
Zhou Bridge was a famous bridge at the intersection of the Imperial Street and the Bian River during the Northern Song Dynasty. Zhou Bridge was first built in the Tang Dynasty, called Bianzhou Bridge; in the Five Dynasties it was called Bian Bridge; in the Northern Song, the Bian River was called the Tianhe River, and the bridge was renamed Tianhan Bridge, commonly known as Zhou Bridge. Zhou Bridge was wide and imposing. Currently, Zhou Bridge is buried underground at the intersection of Zhongshan Road and Dazhifang Street in the bustling center of Kaifeng. In 1984, archaeological excavations revealed a complete ancient bridge 30 meters wide; excavation is still ongoing.
Luoyang and Kaifeng Ancient Capital Cuisine
Luoyang time-honored brand: Old Luoyang Noodle House
Luoyang Water Banquet: Peony Yan Cai (Swallow Dish)
Local white liquor and beer produced in Luoyang
A very impressive shop
Famous Henan dish: Yellow River Carp
Local white liquor and beer produced in Kaifeng
Famous Henan snack: Tang Mian Jiao (Soup-Filled Dumplings)
Famous Henan snack: Donkey Meat Soup
Outdoor food stalls in Luoyang
Indoor food stalls in Luoyang
1. Wherever you travel, be sure to first visit the local museum to understand the city's culture and history; only then can you truly understand the place. Understanding the history first makes the rest of the trip more interesting.
2. It is recommended to visit the Millennium City Park around 3 PM. After enjoying the daytime scenery, you will be met with the spectacular sight of the lights coming on in the evening.
3. Save attractions like Luoyi Ancient City, Yingtianmen, and Lijingmen for the evening. When the lanterns first light up, the golden splendor will immerse you.
4. Luoyang has two subway lines, and they intersect at Jiefang Road. It is recommended to stay near that area for convenient transportation; it is not far to call a taxi to tourist attractions, costing about 20–30 yuan. In Kaifeng, it is recommended to stay near the Drum Tower; it is convenient to call a taxi, costing about 10–20 yuan.
5. For visiting the Shaolin Temple and Longtan Grand Canyon, it is recommended to rent a car for round trips. This saves time and allows you to chat with the local driver about local customs. The cost is also acceptable. The driver we hired this time was very good; if any fellow travelers need a recommendation, feel free to contact me.
Cultural and historical tourism has become a major highlight nowadays. More and more people choose to visit traditional ancient cities, ancient temples, and historical sites to experience the charm of ancient culture. Tourists walk into museums, visit exhibitions, learn about the history and culture of the country, and feel the profoundness of Chinese culture.
