The hypsography of Luoyang is west high
and east low with mountains, hills and rivers stagger.
Its landform is very complicated and multiple. Among
the total land, mountainous area accounts for 45.51%,
hill 40.73% and plain 13.8%. The city is surrendered
by many mountains such as Yu Shan, Mang Shan, Qingyao
Shan, Jingzi Shan, Zhou Shan, Ying Shan, Longmen Shan,
Xiangshan, Wan'an Shan, Shouyang Shan, Song Shan, etc.
In the churchyard, rivers and trenches densely cover,
respectively belonging to the 3 inundations of Yellow
River, Huai River and the Yangtze River. Totally 10
rivers wriggle in the city including the Yellow River,
Luo River, Yi River, Jian River, Qing River, Ci
River, Chan River and Tieluan River.
Luoyang has a total area of 15,208 square kilometers,
including 544 square kilometers urban area. Under its
jurisdiction, there are one county-class city, eight
counties and 6 urban districts. The length from its
east to west is 179 kilometers and width from its south
to north is about 168 kilometers.
Luoyany's soils are various, mainly including brown
soil, red clay, tide soil, yellow brown soil, blackland,
rice soil, eruption soil, country meadow soil, purple
soil, thick jackstraw soil and rock nature soil.
The special physical geography makes Luoyang
always enjoys names of "the Hinterland of 9 States"
and "the Thoroughfare of 10 Provinces".
Luoyang's physical geography and climate are very
suitable for peony to grow. So, peony became Luoyang's
city flower many years ago. Peony is also China's national
flower now. Please find all its details in the special
subject hereinafter.
 Weather and Climate
The geographical condition of Luoyang is ascendant.
It is located in the transition belt of south edge of
warm temperate zone to inferior tropic. Its annual average
temperature is 14.2 oC, and rainfall is 550~900
millimeters. The annual sunlight rate is 47~53%.
Spring is warm and dry. Summer in Luoyang is hot and
humid. Most of the rainfall comes during the rainy season
in summer time. Autumn has the most comfortable weather
conditions and is the best time to visit. Winter is
cold and snow is common. The annual Peony Festival is
held here in April. Visitors can enjoy a great variety
of beautiful peony flowers so April is also a good time
to visit if you want to see China's national flower.
Population
Luoyang is a city with multiple people gathering.
There are totally 46 people here. Thereinto, the Han
People amounts to 98.8%, the balance are the 45 people.
The people over 1,000 persons are Hui People, Man People
and Mongolia People. The Hui People is the main minority,
about 60,000, over 80% of the total minorities.
The whole population of Luoyang is about 6.5 million,
of which 1.5 million are in the urban area.
Food
The local food in Luoyang is not so developed and complicated
to match its economy. But you can taste all other Chinese
famous dishes here. The restaurants are classified into
many grades. You can easily find the right grade as
you like. However there are local famous dishes existed
which are Luoyang Water Banquet and Carp.
Luoyang Water Banquet (Luoyang Shuixi), also called
soup banquet, is not simply a drinking taste, but one
of the most traditional Chinese cuisines. The history
of this local custom can be traced back over a thousand
years. Luoyang is a city surrounded by mountains, and
the weather here is cold and dry. In ancient time, people
hardly got any fruit to enjoy, thus they invented various
soup to make up the need of water.
There are two reasons why the banquet has this name.
The main reason is that, unlike most meal customs in
China, the dishes served in this banquet are brought
one after another, like flowing water, hence the name
"Water Banquet". The second reason is that
around one third of the dishes served are soup or semi-soup
ones.
Although dishes in these banquets vary from one restaurant
to another in both amount and consistency, you may be
assured that carp is included nine times out of ten.
The food is noted for its various soups with sour and
spicy flavors. There are 24 courses in the banquet.
The first course named "Luoyang swallow dish"
is made of radish, turnip shreds, chicken shreds, minced
pork and other vegetables simmered in soup. Legend has
it that Empress Wu Zetian was full of praise after she
tasted it.
Luoyang Water Banquet can be available at many restaurants
here. It would be a regret to miss the wonderful dishes
during your stay at Luoyang. There are large, medium
and mini water banquets which can be ordered according
to the size of your party. A mini banquet of 6 dishes
is enough for a group of 3 persons and costs less than
100 Renminbi Yuan. A budget mini banquet can only be
served in the main dining halls, which means you have
to dine with groups of people sitting around. Of course,
it's a great chance to see the local.
Carp is arguably the most beloved dish in Luoyang.
It is said that in the golden olden days of Luoyang,
when the capital was swathed in mystery and paved with
gold, the fish itself could cost as much as a whole
live ox! The dish itself is considered as a great delicacy
in these parts, beloved for its tender flesh, nutritional
benefits and the stylish design of each dish.
The ideal carp dish is designed with subtle skill.
The carp, with its head held high above the plate, is
masterfully placed, seeming to be leaping over the cabbage
gorge at the side of the plate, a symbol of competitive
spirit. The dish is also known in these parts as "Carp
Leaping over the Gorge".
Specialities
Luoyang Lantern first appeared in the Eastern Han Dynasty
(AD25-220). After the country is unified and dynasty
is established, Emperor Guangwu ordered to make all
kinds of beautiful lanterns hung to celebrate this grand
occasion. This kind of lantern could only used in royal
court but it later spread widely among the populace.
They are many kinds of lanterns and the most popular
is the red gauze round lantern, which is famous for
its beautiful shape, exquisite calligraphy and painting.
Other commonly seen types of lanterns include Newsday
& Luoyang Palace Lanterns which are used as auspicious
ornaments. A Palace Lantern show is held each April
to accompany the annual Peony Festival.
Luoyang was one of the first places to make bronze wares
in the prehistoric Xia Dynasty. Massive bronze ware
production appeared in the Western Zhou Dynasty. Luoyang
craftsman have developed very skillful techniques. A
new technique has been developed recently to use in
the bronze ware production. Luoyang bronze wares are
in varied features and beautiful shapes.
The very famous special local product in Luoyang is
Tang San Cai which is a gem of ancient Chinese art.
It is a kind of handmade glazed ware of exquisite craftsmanship
created in the Tang dynasty. Please find all its all
details in our special subject hereinafter.
History & Culture
It is listed in the first group of the famous historical
and cultural cities by China State Council. Luoyang
enjoys the honorable title of the ancient capital of
13 dynasties.
Judging by the historical relics, from the 21st century
BC, Luoyang was served as the capital for almost 1,530
years for 13 dynasties including the Xia, Shang, Eastern
Zhou, Eastern Han, Cao Wei, Western Jin, North Wei,
Sui, Tang, Hou Liang, Hou Tang and Hou Jin Dynasties.
It is the earliest ancient capital with the most dynasties
and the longest history in China. In the prosperous
Sui and Tang dynasties, the population of Luoyang reached
one million and was one of the international metropolises
at that time.
Luoyang is one of the important cradles of Chinese
civilization with profound cultural detail. Represented
by "Hetu & Luoshu", the earliest classics
of Chinese Culture, the He-Luo Culture is honored as
"the Ancestor of Human Root and Human Culture".
The ritual and musical system of Eastern Zhou Dynasty
and China's Buddhism were established here in Eastern
Han Dynasty. In addition, the Ideal Philosophy was also
developed here as were the earliest seismograph and
artillery spheres. It was here that the famous history
books such as "the History of the Han Dynasty"
and "History as a Mirror" were compiled. Literature
in the Wei and Jin Dynasties flourished in Luoyang.
Generally speaking, in ancient times Luoyang achieved
great development in science and technology, education,
literature, history and philosophy, etc. As an ancient
capital of long-time brilliance and prosperity and an
economic and cultural center, Luoyang has retained many
marvelous cultural legacies such as sites of imperial
cities, monasteries, grottoes, ancient tombs and stele.
It has 7 units of cultural relics under state protection,
53 under provincial protection and over 650 under prefectural
protection. The five ancient imperial cities built respectively
in the Xia, Shang, Zhou, Han-Wei and Sui-Tang periods,
ranging along the Luo River banks, are very unique and
rare in the world. These imperial cities enjoy the title
of "A Galaxy of Five Capitals in Luoyang".
The Longmen Grottoes is one of the three great treasure
houses of stone sculpture in China; Being the first
Buddhist temple officially built after Buddhism was
propagated into China, the White Horse Temple is regarded
as the birthplace of China's Buddhism; There are 65
emperors and kings' ancient tombs dotting the famous
Mangshan Mountain, built since the Eastern Zhou Dynasty
and forming the biggest ancient tomb group in China.
Here, over 400,000 valuable cultural relics have been
unearthed and the world's first ancient tomb museum
was built underground covering an area of 3 hectares;
The profound He-Luo Culture has now made Luoyang a hot
tourist spot for oversea Chinese in search of family
roots and knowledge of their ancestors.
Tourism
Luoyang is a famous tourism city in China because
of its numerous historical relics and rich natural scenery.
It is a yearning city by most Chinese people. There
are so many charming places for sightseeing. If you
have interest, you may find most of them in other subjects
hereinafter.
Industry
Luoyang is an old industrial city in China. There
are about 7 huge factories invested by our government
in 1950's. These factories have been ranking the biggest
in China for many years until now.
Besides the traditional industrial advantages of refractories,
tractors, bearings, glasses, copper processing, mining
machineries, motorcycles and foundry products, nowadays
there are totally 6 important industrial bases being
developed here:
1. Advanced manufacturing base, mainly for machineries;
2. Aluminum industrial base;
3. Electric power industrial base;
4. Petroleum chemical industrial base;
5. Silicon production base;
6. Tungsten, molybdenum and titanium industrial base.
Agriculture and Other Resources
The agricultural population is Luoyang is still very
big. There are many agricultural bases are formed in
different belonging countries. These bases include:
1. Peony representative flower base;
2. Seasonal fresh fruit base;
3. Apple base;
4. Top quality grain base;
5. Top quality tobacco base;
6. Milky and meaty cow bases;
7. Pig base;
8. Meaty sheep base;
9. Dry fruits base;
10. Chinese medicinal materials base.
Key Fames of Luoyang
1. Famous historical and cultural city in China;
2. Peony city. Peony is China national flower. Luoyang
Peony is best under the heaven;
3. Ancient capital of 13 dynasties for over one thousand years;
4. Chinese famous tourism city. One of the most yearning
tourism cities for Chinese and European;
5. One of the Chinese attractive cities;
6. Important industrial city in China.
Development Orientation
กคThe most suitable human inhabitancy
city in central and west parts of China;
กค Brand-new industrial city;
กค World class tourism city;
กค Outstanding regional central city.
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