Luoyang洛阳

Luoyang sits where the Yellow River meets the Luo River, one of the wellsprings of Chinese civilization. Historical records and local tourism convention call it a "capital of thirteen dynasties". The Erlitou site in Luoyang's Yanshi district is what many scholars call "the earliest China". Today, the Longmen Grottoes, with nearly 100,000 carved figures, made UNESCO's World Heritage list in 2000, ranking alongside the Mogao Caves and the Yungang Grottoes as one of China's three great grotto-art treasuries. The Sui-Tang Luoyang City National Heritage Park has rebuilt palace structures like Yingtianmen Gate and the Mingtang-Tiantang halls atop the original ruins. And every April, the whole ancient capital turns into a vast peony garden.

Culture

Capital to thirteen dynasties, and the site of "the earliest China"

• Large palace foundations and bronzes unearthed at the Erlitou site in Yanshi have led many scholars to call it "the earliest China"
• Historical records and local convention call Luoyang a capital of thirteen dynasties
• The Longmen Grottoes made UNESCO's World Heritage list in 2000, ranking with the Mogao Caves and Yungang Grottoes among China's three great grotto-art sites
• The Sui-Tang Luoyang City National Heritage Park has rebuilt palace structures — Yingtianmen Gate, the Mingtang-Tiantang halls, Jiuzhou Pool — atop the original ruins

Food & Flavor

The Luoyang water banquet — a Tang-dynasty echo in a table of soups

• The water banquet comprises 24 hot dishes, mostly soups, and is said to trace back to Tang-dynasty court dining
• Peony-carved mock swallow's nest, made from shredded radish topped with an egg-crepe peony, is the banquet's signature opening dish
• Fermented mung-bean noodle soup and "unturned" mung-bean crepe soup are old-town breakfast staples — both lean sour, so try a small portion first
• Beef broth with torn flatbread is the morning ritual across Henan

Everyday Life

The old town moves slow; the new districts feel modern

• The old town (Shizi Street / Lijing Gate) keeps a height limit and a strong sense of street life, most alive after dark under lanterns and banners
• Jianxi and Xigong districts, rebuilt from old industrial zones, are lived-in but rarely visited by tourists
• Coworking spaces and a nomad community are still early-stage, with modest density