Archive for the ‘Luoyang Travel Tips’ Category

How to Visit Shaolin Temple (Tips, Photos & Map)

Sunday, January 9th, 2022
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Dear Travelers,

We’d like to have the following quick guide to be always updated for the benefit of new visitors visiting Shaolin Temple by bus or using other tools of transportation.

If anybody having used the piece finds necessary updates, please leave a message or feedback. Thanks!
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If you are planning a Luoyang Tour, or Zhengzhou tour? it is highly recommended to include a side trip to Shaolin Temple  from Luoyang or Zhengzhou. Shaolin Temple is the cradle of the Chinese Zen Buddhism and the Shaolin Martial Arts.

Go to Shaolin Temple from Luoyang or Zhengzhou

After visiting the major attractions in Luoyang including Longmen Grottoes, it is advisable to spare a whole day starting in the early morning from Luoyang to Shaolin Temple.  Shaolin Temple is located about 60-70 km southeast of Luoyang which is within the jurisdiction of Dengfeng City, 12km from Shaolin Temple.

Travel to Shaolin Temple overland is the only choice of transportation either from Luoyang or Zhengzhou. You may prebook a taxi or rent a private car from local travel agency in Luoyang ( or Zhengzhou) which costs you around RMB 600 for a round trip.

Luoyang – Shaolin just 60km, 1 hour and 20 minutes by car

For money-saving and more interactive contact with the locals as well, you may go to Shaolin Temple by taking the long-distance bus from Luoyang Long-distance Station which is located across Luoyang Railway Station in the city center. Plentiful buses pass by Shaolin Temple. Just get up early and buy your bus ticket on the spot from Luoyang to Shaolin Temple.

Important Notice
1) You can easily take high speed trains from Beijing and Xian, or other cities to Luoyang, then continue your Shaolin trip; Shaolin Temple is located about 870km southwest of Beijing.
2) You can also visit Shaolin Temple from Zhengzhou instead of Luoyang. There are high speed trains to Zhengzhou from Beijing, Shanghai and other major cities. Zhengzhou city is located about 700km southwest of Beijing. Then you either take taxi or buses to Shaolin Temple from Zhengzhou.

You can also visit Shaolin Temple from Zhengzhou

Bus Ride from Luoyang to Shaolin Temple

Most of the Shaolin Temple bound buses run on National Highway No.207 and Shaolin Temple is just located near the highway 60-70km from Luoyang. Actually many long-distance buses work as shuttle buses along the highway passing numerous villages. ( Note: you can also easily take buses from Zhengzhou to Shaolin Temple).

Don’t be surprised when your bus will stop when there are people waving hands by the roadside if your bus still have some vacancies which your bus driver definitely wants to fill in for maximizing the profit.

Chinese are “noisy” people. On your bus, the passengers around you will talk loudly, even shout and eat, making the bus like their homes, ignoring the existence of others on the bus. So just keep your patience, be tolerant and “enjoy” your travel experience on a long-distance bus in China!

Bus Ride from Luoyang to Shaolin Temple

On the way to Shaolin Temple from Luoyang

Within 2 and half hours your ticket collector on the bus will remind you that you have arrived at the entrance to Shaolin Temple. Get off and you will see a huge statue of a Shaolin Temple Monk.  |

A huge statue of a Shaolin Temple Monk.

A huge statue of a Shaolin Temple Monk.

ABC of Shaolin Temple

Shaolin Temple was established in 495AD by Emperor Xiaowen in Beiwei Dynasty for the purpose of accommodating the famous Indian monk, Batuo, who came to Luoyang, the ancient capital for spreading Buddhism at that period.

Emperor Xiaowen was a dedicated believer of Buddhism so he decided to construct the temple at the foot of the Songshan Mountains to welcome Batuo, who translated many Buddhist documents and had several hundred followers there.

“Shao” refers to the Shaoshi Mountain, one of the two mountains in Songshan Mountain Range. “Lin” means “forest”. “Shaolin Temple” literally means a temple in the forest of Shaoshi Mountain in Songshan Mountain Range.

Now Shaolin Temple is reputed as the Number One Temple under Heaven which was listed as UNESCO’s World Cultural & Natural Heritage List in 2010 as part of the “Historic Monuments of Dengfeng.” The temple is the cradle of the Chinese Zen Buddhism and the Shaolin Martial Arts.

Shaolin Temple is rated as a 5-star government appointed attraction which is well-organized in terms of its clear layout and signs, clean toilets and environment, and easy transportation. Basically your Shaolin Temple trip will take you around 3 hours covering three major sites including watching Shaolin Kung Fu Show for half an hour, one hour visit to Shaolin Temple itself and half hour visit to the Pagoda Forest.

Shaolin Temple Linear Travel Route

The linear travel route is about 2-3km which takes much walking. If you don’t have strong legs, you may use the shuttle bus Service at RMB 10 for one way trip within the compound.

The main gate to Shaolin Temple, the stone archway with a huge rock in its front carved with the words “Shaolin Culture, People’s Heritage” by former Chinese president Jiang Zeming.

The Entrance Gate and Entry Fees

The main gate to Shaolin Temple, the stone archway

The main gate to Shaolin Temple, the stone archway

Entry Fee and Opening Hours
On your left side by the gate is the ticket office with an ancient style of structure.
Admission Fee: RMB 80
Opening Hours:
Peak season (March ~ November) : 07:30~18:00;
Low season (December ~ February) : 08:00~17:30.

The ticket office

Once you enter the attraction compound, you will first walk by Shaolin Tagou Martial Arts School. The Ta Gou Kung Fu School, one of the largest kung fu schools in China, is the only one kung fu school which owns and practices on land below the Shaolin Temple. It has over 400 classes and has trained over 50,000 kung fu students.

The Ta Gou Kung Fu School

The Ta Gou Kung Fu School

The Shaolin Kung Fu Show

Students are training on one of the playgrounds nearby of The Ta Gou Kung Fu School. Soon you will walk past the Shaolin Kung Fu Show Theatre which is located not far from the main entrance. There are 5 fixed daily performances at the theatre. The kung fu show lasts half hour including a few minutes’interaction on the part of the visitors and the actors. 

Kung Fu Show Time Table
Morning Kung Fu Show 9:30 – 10:00 11;30 – 12:00
Afternoon Kung Fu Show 14:00 – 14:30; 15:00 – 15:30; 16:00 – 17:30

So well schedule your visiting time in Shaolin Temple, avoiding losing the exciting kung fu show. The Kung Fu Show is performed by the professional performance team from Shaolin Tagou Kung Fu School. Shaolin Kung fu is the most influential martial arts schools in China. In the less than half performance, you will see “Shaolin Boxing” and “Shaolin Stick” typical of Shaolin Kungfu.

The Shaolin Kung Fu Show Theatre

The Shaolin Kung Fu Show Theatre

The most impressing performance is Tongzigong. “Tongzigong” literally means “children’s kung fu”, a form of qigong exercise needing flexibility, part of Shaolin Kung Fu classes. It is learned at very early age and must be practiced before the body becomes matured and grown up.

Tongzigong

Tongzigong

You may watching the show before or after visiting other major sites like Shaolin Temple and Pagoda Forest. Then you continue to walk on the main road approaching Shaolin Temple.

The Shaolin Temple itself

Shanmen Hall is the first hall serving as an entrance to the temple. Hung on its top is a placard inscribed with “Shaolin Temple”. The hall enshrines the Maitreya Buddha with 18 Buddhist Arhats standing along the eastern and the southern walls of the hall.

Shanmen Hall

the Hall of Heavenly Kings

Next, walking along the axis, you will come across the Hall of Heavenly Kings with magnificent structure, enshrining the four heavenly kings.

the Mahavira Hall

Standing in Snow Pavilion, enshrining the second abbot of Shaolin Temple – Monk Huike who stood in the snow with his left arm cut in order to study the buddhism from Dharma.

Standing in Snow Pavilion

Standing in Snow Pavilion

Shaolin Temple is full of prominent Chinese architectures, stela and tablets. If you are interested in Chinese traditional culture, you may find a lot to see and study inside Shaolin Temple.

Shaolin Temple is full of prominent Chinese architectures, stelae and tablets

Shaolin Pagoda Forest

Outside the temple and move on to the next big attraction – Pagoda Forest, a graveyard for the monks through the ages.

Pagoda Forest

Actually there are more to see in Shaolin Temple beside the major attractions mentioned above, like the Dharma Cave and so on. At the end of your trip, you may walk back to the entrance or pay RMB 10 to take a shuttle bus from Pagoda Forest to the entrance.

Shuttle Bus inside Shaolin Temple compound

Shuttle Bus inside Shaolin Temple compound

If you want to continue to visit Dengfeng where Zhongyue Tempple and Songyang Academy are located, you may take the bus no.08 across the road by Shaolin Temple to Dengfeng City.

Where to Eat Vegetarian Food inside the temple?

Inside the gate and on the right, there is a vegetarian restaurant known as 少林欢喜地 (Shaolin Huanxidi), about 50 yuan per person.

By the way, as far as I know, beside the Shaolin Kungfu Theatre there is a hotel which also offer food that is more delicate than the restaurant known as 少林欢喜地.

Don’t miss the Kungfu Show included in your entry ticket ( see : . The Kung Fu Show )

Again more information on goting to Shaolin Temple

Starting from Zhengzhou:
You can first take high-speed train to Zhengzhou, then take the shuttle bus by the train station to Dengfeng, and then take the minibus from Dengfeng to the main scenic spots such as Shaolin Temple, Songyang Academy, Zhongyue Temple. It only takes one hour to get to the Shaolin Temple via Zheng-Shao Expressway.

Startijng from Luoyang:
Every morning at 6:00, 7:00 there are shuttle buses to the Shaolin Temple starting from Luoyang Bus Station, east of Luoyang Railway Station.

Tip:  Hassle-free Luoyang Guided Tours

If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours,  here are some options for Luoyang Guided Tours:

Luoyang Tour
Luoyang Car Rental
Luoyang One Day Private Tour
Luoyang- Shaolin One Day Private Tour
Beijing Luoyang 2 Day Round Trip Tour
Xian Luoyang Day Tour by Bullet Train

Further Readings


Dengfeng City
Zhongyue Temple
Songyang Academy
Shaolin Temple
Kung Fu Show at Shaolin Temple


Top 10 Attractions in Luoyang
How to Visit Shaolin Temple
Where to Stay in Luoyang
Luoyang Museum Guide
Museum of Luoyang Eastern Zhou Royal Horse and Chariot Pits
How to visit White Horse Temple
Longmen Grottoes Travel Tips
Kung Fu Show at Shaolin Temple
Luoyang Taxi

 Any questions,  just drop a line.

Where to stay in Luoyang (Tips & Map)

Sunday, January 9th, 2022
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Plan your Luoyang tour? A little dark about where to stay in Luoyang? A glimpse of Luoyang city layout is necessary before you decide in which part of the city of Luoyang you are going to stay and book your Luoyang hotels accordingly. The choice of a final hotel in Luoyang is also largely contingent on your budget and taste.

Layout of Luoyang City

The city core of Luoyang is administratively composed of four districts – Old Town District, Xigong District, Jianxi District and Economic Development District (New District). The four districts are popularly divided into three parts – Old Town Area, City Commercial Area and New district.

The city center of Luoyang is bisected into the north part and south part by the Luo River passing through from west to east. “Luoyang” literally means “the north of Luo River”.

So traditionally the city core of Luoyang lies to the north of Luo River which now mainly comprises three administrative districts – Old Town District, Xigong District and Jianxi District. The New District is located to the south bank of Luo River.

Luoyang Tourist Map

In Luoyang, generally you have three areas to choose to locate your final hotel for your short stay – Old Town Area, Commercial Area and New District.

Old Town Area

To the north of Luo River and in the northeast of the city center lies the old town area. The old town area also includes some west part of Xigong district.

This is the earliest area for the city construction of Luoyang. Traditionally the old town had “9 streets, 18 alleys and 72 hutongs” which were strewn with densely populated private houses and prosperous with trade and commerce. Now this area has been revamped with upgraded infrastructure.

The six major roads run through the old town with 10 unique commercial streets. The fantastical night food street is located in the old town area.

The famous White Horse Temple is just 12km to the east of the old town. Luoyang Railway Station is located between the old town area and the city commercial area.

Suggested hotels in the old town area:

Joysion International Luoyang: No.300 Jiudu East Road, Luoyang
Yuntian Hotel :450 Zhongzhou East Road, Old Town, Luoyang
Luoyang Shendu Hotel :No.168 Huangmei Road,East of Jiudu Road Bridge, Luoyang
New Jianlong Hotel: 3 Kaixuan East Road, Xigong District, Luoyang

City Center and Commercial Area

To the north of Luo River and in the middle and west part of Luoyang City core is defined as the City Center Commercial Area.

This area mainly comprises the two districts – Xigong District and Jianxi District. Xigong District is in the middle of Luoyang City core and Jianxi is in the west of Luoyang City core. Tianzi Jialiu Museum is located in this area.

Suggested hotels in the city center area:

Christian’s Hotel: No.56 Jiefang Road, Xigong District, Luoyang
Luoyang Grand Hotel:No 1,Zhoushan Road, Luoyang
7 Days Inn Luoyang Peony Square: No.5 Xiyuan Road, Jianxi District, Luoyang
Jinjiang Inn Luoyang Xigong Stadium: No.17 Jiudu Road, Xigong District, Luoyang
Junkai Boutique Hotel:No.81 Daonan Road, Xigong District, Luoyang
Jinjiang Inn Luoyang Railway Station: No.20 Shachang North Road, Xigong District, Luoyang
Hua Yang Plaza Hotel:No.88 Kaixuan West Road, Jianxi District, Luoyang
Home Inn (Luoyang Tanggong Middle Road): No.16 Tanggong Middle Road, Xigong District, Luoyang
Zhongzhou Shangwu Hotel Luoyang Xiyuan Road: No.39 Xiyuan Road, Jianxi District, Luoyang
Aviation Hotel Luoyang: No.8 Tiyuchang Road, Xigong District, Luoyang
New Friendship Hotel:Fu No.6 Xiyuan Road, Jianxi District, Luoyang
Jing’an Peony Plaza: No.2 Nanchang Road, Luoyang
Yaxiang Jinling Hotel: Taikang Road, New District, luoyang

New District

The New District is situated to the south bank of Luo River. This new district was established in 1992 under the grand city economic development blueprint. The local city administration has been also moved here.

It has attracted numerous companies home and abroad for investment in Luoyang. The major tourist attractions in this area include Luoyang Museum, Guanlin Temple and Longmen Grottoes. The Longmen Railway Station for high speed trains is also located in the south of the new district.

Suggested hotels in the new district:

Dongshan Hotel:Dongshan, Longmen, Luoyang 471023
Mudu Lee Royal International Hotel: No.238 Kaiyuan Avenue, Luonan Development Zone, Luoyang
Yaxiang Jinling Hotel Luoyang: Wangcheng Avenue and Taikang Road, Luoyang
Dikuang Holiday Hotel: at the Junction of Kaiyuan Avenue and Changxing Street,Luoyang
Longmen Hotel: 150 Meters North of Longmen Grottos Terminal, Luoyang
Luoyang Zhuogengyuan Hotel :Front Building, No.71 Longmen Avenue, Luolong District, Luoyang
Zhuogengyuan Youth Hotel: 71 Longmen Avenue, Luoyang
Luoyang Dawei Jiuchao Hotel : 20 Exhibition Road, Luoyang
Zhonghe Hotel:6 Xuezijie, New District, Luoyang
Yaxiang Jinling Hotel: Taikang Road, New District, luoyang

Tip:  Hassle-free Luoyang Guided Tours

If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours,  here are some options for Luoyang Guided Tours:

Luoyang Tour
Luoyang Car Rental
Luoyang One Day Private Tour
Luoyang- Shaolin One Day Private Tour
Beijing Luoyang 2 Day Round Trip Tour
Xian Luoyang Day Tour by Bullet Train

Further Readings

Top 10 Attractions in Luoyang
How to Visit Shaolin Temple
Where to Stay in Luoyang
Luoyang Museum Guide
Museum of Luoyang Eastern Zhou Royal Horse and Chariot Pits
How to visit White Horse Temple
Longmen Grottoes Travel Tips
Kung Fu Show at Shaolin Temple
Longmen Railway Station
Luoyang Taxi

Any questions, just drop a line.

Luoyang Taxi: Luoyang Taxi Fares, Tips and Phone

Wednesday, August 11th, 2021
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56032-20011

Plan your Luoyang tour? In China, for a city tour, taking taxis is a good choice, fast, cheap and comfortable in comparison with public buses. Generally it is convenient to hail a taxi on the streets in Luoyang. But if you are going to catch a flight or train, advanced booking is highly recommended.


If you want to rent a car with driver to visit Luoyang on your own way, check out the link for more information: Luoyang Car Rental.

Luoyang Tourist Map


Taxi Models in Luoyang

The mainly models of taxis include Jetta, Fiat, Xiali, Santana, Crown and Fukang…

Luoyang Taxi

Luoyang Taxi Fares:

•RMB5 for the first 2km
•RMB1-1.5 per km for the additional distance
•An extra fee will be charged if waiting for five minutes this extra fee equal to the distance surcharge of one kilometer

Luoyang Taxi Calls:

Tel: 0379 –  9610033

Hailing a Luoyang City Taxi

•The best places to hail a taxi is near the Station, Scenic Spots, Hotel.
•It is very easy to hail a taxi on the streets. People prefer to hail a taxi near a bus stop instead of those taxi stands.

Luoyang Taxi rider’s rights

As a taxi rider, you have the rights below:
Direct drive to your destination and no compulsory car pooling;
Go to any destination in and beyond Luoyang;
Your car driver knows the streets in Luoyang and the way to major destinations;
Your driver should know and abide by all traffic laws;
Air-conditioning on demand;
A radio-free trip;
No Smoking
A clean passenger seat area;
A clean trunk
A driver uses the horn only when necessary to warn of danger;
No Tipping

Luoyang Taxi Stands

There are no particular taxi stands in Luoyang. People just hail a taxi anywhere it is safe.

Luoyang Taxi Complaints

If you have any problem with a taxi in Luoyang, please contact the following:
•Luoyang Public Carriage Officer: 0379-63947153

Luoyang Taxi Useful Information

•Using a meter instead of bargaining with the cab driver
•If you want to take a taxi to suburban areas of Luoyang, you can have a bargain with the driver before you get in the taxi.
•Refusing a forced pooling taxi
•Louyang Airport  – downtown Luoyang RMB 40
• Longmen Railway Station – downtown Luoyang RMB 40
•  Longmen Grottoes – downtown Luoyang RMB 50
• Downtown – White Horse Temple  RMB45

Tip:  Hassle-free Luoyang Guided Tours

If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours,  here are some options for Luoyang Guided Tours:

Luoyang Tour
Luoyang Car Rental
Luoyang One Day Private Tour
Luoyang- Shaolin One Day Private Tour
Beijing Luoyang 2 Day Round Trip Tour
Xian Luoyang Day Tour by Bullet Train

Further Readings


Top 10 Attractions in Luoyang
How to Visit Shaolin Temple
Where to Stay in Luoyang
Luoyang Museum Guide
Museum of Luoyang Eastern Zhou Royal Horse and Chariot Pits
How to visit White Horse Temple
Longmen Grottoes Travel Tips
Kung Fu Show at Shaolin Temple
Longmen Railway Station
Luoyang Taxi