Heritage
Video 2:14Longmen Grottoes
龙门石窟100,000 Buddhas carved into a riverside cliff
4.94 h|¥90
Suggested stay
3 days
Editorial guides
4
Arrive at
Luoyang Longmen railway
Best season
Apr–May, Sep–Oct
Three reasons to get off the train
- 01
Heritage
Imperial capitals, grottoes and excavated cities
- 02
Museums
Provincial collections with English labels
- 03
Food streets
Night markets and breakfast streets
- 04
Bring these together
Longmen Grottoes · Laojun Mountain · Yingtian Gate · White Horse Temple
What to see in Luoyang
4 editorial guides
What happened here
c. 1750 BCESitesPrehistoric
Erlitou and the search for the Xia capital
A palace complex, bronze workshops and a road grid at Erlitou near Yanshi; many scholars identify it with a Xia capital.
c. 500 BCEZhou
Confucius asks about rites in Luoyi
The young teacher travelled to the Zhou capital to study ceremony and music, a meeting later carved and painted many times.
68 CECultureQin & Han
The White Horse Temple
Built for monks who arrived from the west with sutras on white horses, it is the oldest Buddhist temple in China.
493 CECultureWei, Jin & Six Dynasties
The first grottoes at Longmen
When the Northern Wei court moved to Luoyang, carving began on the cliffs south of the city and continued for four centuries.
What to eat in Luoyang
Luoyang Water Banquet
洛阳水席Twenty-four courses served in sequence, most of them soup.
Old town restaurants near Lijing Gate
“You come expecting a monument and leave having stared at one face for twenty minutes.”
Longmen Grottoes
“Two cable cars, one long staircase, and then a temple complex floating in white. Worth the cold.”
Laojun Mountain
Arrive, then move slowly
- Gateway
- Luoyang Longmen railway
- Rail access
- Direct high-speed rail
- Time needed
- 3 days · 15.5 h of site time
Rail times below are planning estimates, not timetable data. Confirm departures before booking.
Nearby by rail
| City | Distance | Est. rail |
|---|---|---|
| Mengzhou 孟州 | 44 km | 0h 46m |
| Gongyi 巩义 | 54 km | 0h 49m |
| Jiyuan 济源 | 54 km | 0h 49m |
| Dengfeng 登封 | 55 km | 0h 50m |