Luoyang, pop: 7,000,000, is located in one of China’s smallest provinces, Henan Province. It may be one of the smallest provinces but is also the most densely populated. The Yellow River crosses Henan and Chinese civilization can be tracked back around 3,500 years in this area with a few remaining sections of its original walls in the old city. Luoyang was also the capital of 13 dynasties.

Enough of that…lunch. Chao (“Chow”) is a man after my own heart and really knows his way around food. The first restaurant chosen had Henan cuisine. Chao and Andy would be with us for the next 5 days and we explained our dietary rules once again. No dog, cat, rat, snake or other unusual beasties. Like spicy foods. Explain to us what the dish contains and we’ll yea or nay. Whatever it was, very delicious and happy that Andy asked for extra chopsticks to use on the serving plates as serving utensils instead of us all dipping chopsticks back and forth into the communal plates. I know this is Chinese tradition but I’d prefer not to go along with tradition in this instance.

One of the first things I noticed were the newly washed and sanitized dishes delivered by a service at the front door of the restaurant. We saw that on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau last year. If only a service would come to my house, take the dirty dishes and return them nice and clean. …Oops, that’s right……that person is me!

Chao’s little bonsai in the car, Luoyang, China 

clean dishes wrapped in plastic delivered to restaurants in Luoyang, China
Nice and full, Chao drove us to the Peony Hotel for check-in and short rest before visiting the Longmen Grottos in an hour. The Peony Hotel is a little dated. Employees very helpful and friendly (at least those who spoke some English) but dated. There are many newer hotels available.

Still dragging, a short drive to the Longmen Grottoes, also referred to as Dragon Gate Grottoes and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. …View image… There are over 2,000 caves and niches, 100,000 Buddhist images, and 300,000 characters of inscriptions. The grottoes and niches in two hills are known for their large numbers, massive scale, various subjects, delicate carvings and meanings. The biggest Buddha took 25 years and 10,000 men to build!

Giant Longmen Buddha, China
If a person didn’t feel like walking the distance from the parking lot, little golf carts drove you to the entrance of the grottoes. Once there, you still have to manage the steep stairs up to some of the caves. We walked but I really like the cart instructions for visitors:

Do not “frolic” on the car – Longmen Grotto instructions, China 

stairs leading up to the UNESCO Longmen caves in China 

a partial glimpse of just a few of the 2,000 caves built into the mountain at Longmen, China
There were big Buddhas. Wan Fo, a cave with 10,000 little Buddhas carved in it…Lotus Flower Cave, Medicine Prescription Cave and too many others to mention…I did say 2,000, didn’t I? …View image…

many, many little Buddhas at Longmen Grottoes, China 

another Longmen Cave in China
Western souvenior hunters decapitated almost every figure they could along with removing murals. I was very happy to see that Chicago wasn’t on the list of known places that had stolen the art from here. Unfortunately, the United States wasn’t exempt. New York, Boston and Kansas City were on the list. The Cultural Revolution also did their bit and managed to destory much of the art.

Caved out and tired, we settled for a very fast takeout dinner from KFC…and crashed…

Luoyang’s Kentucky Fried Chicken…finger-licking good