Travel Diary: Living It Up in Luoyang
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Sunday, August 23
We departed from Beijing to Luoyang in the afternoon by high-speed train at exactly 3.43pm. The whole experience was very smooth and on-time; while I had to wear a mask throughout the whole day, I didn’t have to show my Health Kit or any health code, even while entering Beijing West. The train ride was very comfortable, as we sat back and cruised through the countryside at 300 km/hour. The train routed through neighboring Hebei province and stopped in a few cities like Baoding and the provincial capital, Shijiazhuang. We then crossed into Henan province, stopping in a few smaller cities before arriving at Zhengzhou, and finally, at around 8.10pm, Luoyang.We had arranged our Luoyang exploration plans with China Highlights, a full-fledged tour company that offers tours across China. A driver was there to pick us up from the Luoyang Longmen Railway Station and drop us off at our hotel. I crashed into bed by 9.30pm, exhausted but excited to explore Luoyang in the days to come.Monday, August 24
We meet with Lisa, our tour guide. From the outset, she strikes us to be a very knowledgeable guide, especially on Chinese dynasties and rulers. Lisa was born and brought up in Luoyang and has been doing Luoyang tours since 2002. She’s extremely professional and accomplished, along with our tour van driver, Mr. Fu.Fun Fact: Luoyang is one of the four great ancient capitals in China, along with Beijing, Nanjing, and Xi’an. Though it may not be mentioned a whole lot in Chinese history and culture discussions, it was the capital for 13 dynasties, such as the (possibly mythical) Xia, Eastern Zhou, Han, and Tang dynasties.After a scrumptious lunch, we made our way to the Luoyang Old Town (老城区,lǎochéngqū). We walked through streets full of vendors selling all kinds of arts and crafts, food, goods, and services. We buy a jigsaw puzzle, some colorful bags, and an interesting snack we reckon is some sort of peppermint.
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Our guide Lisa gets us hooked onto this local yogurt (coincidentally branded as Báimǎsì), which has a really balanced taste; it’s neither too sweet nor too plain. It’s a nice palette cleanser, and a good way to cool ourselves after a spicy meal on a hot summer day.
We have dinner at a Haidilao next to our hotel. Incidentally, it was the first time all of us had been to a Haidilao, and the proactive service by the waiting staff was a refreshing change of pace none of us expected. We went for the broth with green chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns. Eating lamb, fish, tofu, and veggies from that broth was an out-of-body experience: probably one of the spiciest meals I’ve ever had.
Tuesday, August 25
After brekkie at the hotel, we visit arguably the city’s most important landmark: the Longmen Grottoes (龙门石窟,lóngmén shíkū). These are many caves containing some of the finest Buddhist stone sculptures you will ever see. It houses many statues of Shakyamuni Buddhas and his disciples, and the caves that contain these sculptures were dug from a 1 km stretch of cliff running along the banks of the nearby Yi River. One of the caves Lisa took us to contained 15,000 sculptures alone. The whole scenic natural environment made for some excellent photo and video shooting opportunities.Wednesday, August 26
It’s our last day of exploring the sights of Luoyang, and we saved the best for last: the world-renowned Shaolin Temple (少林寺,shàolín sì). Now, truth be told, two days before we headed out to Luoyang, I didn’t even know the Shaolin Temple was even located in Henan province, let alone near Luoyang. But since a visit was included in our itinerary, I figured it was absolutely worth exploring this monastery that is a melting pot for Chinese martial arts.Advertisement
Photos: Courtesy of Pranav Sundararajan
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