Located on the southern bank of the Yellow River, Luoyang is one of the seven ancient capitals of China. More than 70 rulers of nine different dynasties had their capitals here giving it the name "Capital of Nine Dynasties" and Luoyang still retains many of its significant ancient landmarks which are the main tourist draws.

The main attractions in and around Luoyang are the White Horse Temple, the first Buddhism temple in China, Longmen Grottoes 12km from the city and the famous Shaolin Temples where kung fu and other martial arts are still practiced.

The Longmen Grottoes date from 494 during the Northern Wei Dynasty and are one of China's three leading treasure houses of grotto art, with over 2,100 caves. The largest of the grottoes Buddhist sculptures stands 56 feet tall and they are a must see for visitors to Luoyang.

Temple of the White Horse is almost 2000 years old and was founded in AD68, the eleventh year of the reign of Emperor Yongping of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and is thought to be China's first Buddhist temple; the current temple was rebuilt during the Ming and Qing dynasty era and has some 100 halls and chambers

Located in the Songshan Mountains, 40 km south-east of Luoyang the Shaolin Temple is famous not only as one of China's most important Buddhist temples, but also as the centre of Chinese kung-fu.