Luoyang with a history of nearly 5,000 years
is located in the western part of Henan Province and to the south
of the middle reaches of the Yellow River. It has a population of
800,000 in the city proper.
The ancient city of Luoyang
is one of the seven ancient capitals of China and is included
in a list of famous historical and cultural cities of China. Archaeologists
have recently confirmed that Luoyang was the capital during the
reign of 96 emperors in 13 dynasties over a period of 1,529years.
The layout of Luoyang during the Xia (21th -16th century B.C.),
Shang (16 th-11th Century B.C.), Zhou (11th century -256 B.C.),
Han-Wei (206B.C.-220A.D.), and Sui-Tang dynasties (581-907 A.D.),
displayed in Luoyang Municipal Museum, is known as "Five capitals
Assembling in Luoyang". Today there are six major historical and
cultural sites here under state protection. The Longmen Grottoes
are one of the three major treasure houses of stone carving in
China. The Baima Temple (White Horse Temple) was the first Buddhist
temple established by the government after Buddhism started to
spread in China. The "Forest of Guan Yu" is one of the three major
memorial temples of Lord Guan. Mount Mangshan in the north suburbs
is the site of China's largest ancient tomb group that consists
mainly of imperial mausoleums, the oldest dating back to the Eastern
Zhou Dynasty.
Luoyang boasts beautiful
natural scenery, being surrounded by the Yellow River, the scenic
Xiaolangdi Reservoir and the tomb of Emperor Guangwu of the Han
Dynasty (206B.C.-220A.D.) to the north; Baiyun state Forest park
and a limestone cave in the Jiguan Mountain that is called "the
First Cave in North China" to the south; Songshan Mountain, one
of the five sacred Mountains, and the shaolin Monastery to the
east. The world-renowned Luoyang peony has been selected as the
flower of the city.