The Grottoes of Luoyang — Myriad Misadventures

Luoyang is a vibrant city rich in culture with new things to see around every corner. I might have written something like that had I had the time to properly explore the city, but it was admittedly just a stop on my trip from Shaolin to Beijing, with barely enough time to see the Longmen Grottoes, which was the main reason I stopped there. That being said I tried to poke around the city a little in the brief time I was there and was quite impressed with what I saw.

The City

Luoyang is, at least according to the reading I did on Wikipedia (hey, I'm just an average guy), an ancient capital of China with some 6 million people (almost two in the city's urban area). This was obviously reflected in buildings and architecture that, although often a little rundown, had a much greater story to tell than the average building in Shenzhen, where I spend most of my time. This has always been my biggest qualm with Shenzhen and it was great to see a city with a little more soul, even if it was only briefly.

Stuff to See

This...is where I've let you down. Although my map showed all sorts of things worth seeing, I didn't see all that much because of the nature of the stop over. That being said I did have time to check out the museum built to showcase the tomb dug up in the town. Located in the middle of a park, the museum showcases the remains of a tomb excavated in the city. The main parts include an area of artifacts from that time and another area with the horses and carriages as they were (as I understood at least) excavated. Both areas contain the usual museum wall explanations, although not all were in English. Ask for the location of the park at your hotel and when you get there look for the statues of the horses. The museum is underneath those statues. The museum is a great place to spend an afternoon if you want to soak up the history, or swing through in an hour if you have time to kill and want to see something neat.

The Main Draw

Finally, the grottoes. I decided to stop in Luoyang on the way from Shaolin to Beijing in order to see the Longmen Grottoes, and in typical fashion I didn't allot enough time. I made my way there, with luggage in tow, after checking out the museum. I was not disappointed. The Longmen Grottoes are a series of caves full of Buddhist carvings, statues, and inscriptions flanking the Yi River that were made, and then looted, over hundreds of years. The places that were looted were obvious and upsetting, but the city seems to be doing a good job protecting the area now. The statues run the gamut from tiny to extremely large and honeycomb the cliffs on both sides of the river. I spent a lot of time on the first side, only to realize there was a whole bunch of stuff on the other side of the river that I didn't have time to see. Don't make the same mistake I did. Leave a little time to see what's on the far side of the river.

It might have just been a quick stop on my trip and I didn't give myself nearly enough time to see what I wanted, but I'm glad I got to experience a little bit of Luoyang and hope I have the chance to get back and explore the city a little more. Thanks for reading and I'll see you on my next trip. Don't forget to click the links below and follow to stay up to date on what I'm doing and where I am and to see all the pictures and videos from the trips.