Luoyang is a small city in Henan Province 25 km to the south of the Yellow River. It is well known in China as "the Capital of Nine Dynasties" since it was on and off its place from the Eastern Zhou (770 BC) to the Tang Dynasty (923-936 AD). The city as you see today is not quite what it was in the heyday of its youth and the majority of the best sights now are those that the past has left behind. It is, however, not over plagued by tourists at the moment, so that many sights here can still be enjoyed in peace and quiet.

The reason for Luoyang's popularity in ancient times is mostly liked to the geographical and climatic factors of Henan. Many times the imperial entourage had to move from the chosen favouite, Xi'an, due to the frequent droughts that plagued this part of China. Strategically as well, Luoyang is a very useful city, with hills on three sides making it close to impregnable. Located almost in the centre of Henan, the city was easy to control. Nowadays, frequent reports surface of the discovery of ancient weapons unearthed in various parts of the city.

The history of Luoyang as a town and later as a city goes back much longer than that of it as a capital. Documents and cultural relics are continually being found here, allowing archaeologists to slowly piece together the past and allowing the Luoyangese the comfort of swelled pride. But the interpretation of history is never the easiest thing and the ancient discoveries are always somewhat tinted by this pride. Recent evidence, discovered in the Neolithic site found in the west of the city, has dated a population here as far back as 7,000 years ago. Buddhism was apparently introduced here as early as 68 AD from Nepal. The revered Chinese scholar, Confucius, is also said to have spent some time here, perfecting his philosophical thought. The biggest claim, however, that the people of Luoyang make is that, contrary to common belief, the Silk Road's true starting point was Luoyang.

The city's glorious position began to dwindle after the last of the capitals collapsed. In recent years the city has been making a come-back economically, although this comes somewhat at the cost of losing the glamour of a small city. Concrete buildings and skyscrapers are rapidly entering the city, so that most of the sights worth visiting here are situated outside the city proper, most notably the Longmen Caves 16 km out of town.