China's Ancient Capital — the city of nine dynasties where the Longmen Grottoes hold 100,000 Buddhist carvings, the National Peony Festival turns the city scarlet and gold each April, and the White Horse Temple marks the arrival of Buddhism in China
Luoyang is one of China's Four Great Ancient Capitals — a city that served as the imperial capital of nine dynasties over 1,500 years, including the Eastern Han, Wei, Jin, Northern Wei, Sui, and Tang dynasties, with a history stretching back over 4,000 years. The Longmen Grottoes (UNESCO World Heritage Site), carved into cliffs along the Yi River south of the city, contain over 2,300 caves and niches holding nearly 110,000 Buddhist stone carvings and statues — the largest grouping being the Fengxian Temple site with the colossal 17-metre Vairocana Buddha, completed under Empress Wu Zetian in…
Luoyang's history begins with the legendary Xia Dynasty (c. 2070–1600 BCE), which is traditionally said to have had its centre near Erlitou (an archaeological site 20 km east of modern Luoyang now identified as a Xia or early Shang Bronze Age city). The Zhou Dynasty established their Eastern Zhou capital at Luoyang in 770 BCE, which became the centre of Chinese philosophical thought — Confucius, Laozi, and the hundred philosophical schools of the Warring States period (Zhou collapse) are all connected to this era and region. The Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 CE) made Luoyang the most populous c…