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Home History and Culture Ancient Capitals of China (Luoyang)
Ancient Capitals of China (Luoyang)
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Luoyang (luò yáng 洛阳) lies in the west of Hennan Province (hé nán shěng 河南省). Situated in the central plain, it is known as “the Gravity Center of China” and “the Hinterland of Nine Divisions (a poetic name for China)”. Named due to the location on the north side of the Luohe River (luò hé 洛河), Luoyang is one of the most important places of origin of the Huaxia civilization (huá xià wén míng 华夏文明).

Starting from the Xia Dynasty (xià cháo 夏朝), the first imperial dynasty in China, Luoyang severed as the capital for thirteen dynasties. It was the earliest capital city with the longest time of being capital in China’s history. During the Sui (suí cháo 隋朝) and Tang (táng cháo 唐朝) dynasties, with a population of more than one million, Luoyang was at that time the most prosperous city in the world.

There are number of cultural relics and historical sites in Luoyang. Arrayed along the Luohe River, the capital relics of the Xia, the Shang (shāng 商), the Zhou (zhōu 周), the Han (hàn 汉) and Wei (wèi 魏), the Sui and Tang Dynasties present a rare scene in the world, known as "the Five Capitals Assembling in Luoyang City”. Moreover, there are the Museum of Ancient Tombs (gǔ mù bó wù guǎn 古墓博物馆), the Park of Peonies (mǔ dān yuán 牡丹园) of the Royal City (wáng chéng guǎng chǎng 王城广场), etc. 

Nowadays Luoyang is a new industrial base in China, famous for its tractors, mineral machines and bearing industry. Besides, it is also well developed in such fields as steel processing, textiles and refining petroleum. Luoyang is also a transportation center of Longhai railway (lǒng hǎi tiě lù 陇海铁路), Jiaoliu railway (jiāo liǔ tiě lù 焦柳铁路) and other railways.


The Longmen Grottoes (lóng mén shí kū 龙门石窟), together with the Dunhuang Grottoes (dūn huáng shí kū 敦煌石窟) in Gangsu Province (gān sù shěng 甘肃省) and the Yungang Grottoes (yún gāng shí kū 云冈石窟) at Datong (dà tóng 大同) in Shanxi Province (shān xī shěng 山西省), are known as the three major treasure-houses of Buddhist grotto are in ancient China. In 494 AD, Emperor Xiaowen (xiào wén dì 孝文帝) of the Northern Wei Dynasty (běi wèi 北魏) moved his capital to Luoyang and started the construction of the Longmen Grottoes. It boasts a huge collection of more than 100000 Buddhist status and 2300 niches.

Baima TempleThe Baima (White Horse) Temple
The Baima (White Horse) Temple (bái mǎ sì 白马寺) was the first officially built Buddhist shrine since Buddhism was introduced into China. It is reputed as the “the Origin of Buddhism” in China.

中国古都之洛阳

      洛阳位于河南省西部,地处中原,有“天下之中”、“九州腹地”之称。洛阳市华夏文明的重要发祥地之一,因地处洛河之北而得名。

      洛阳从中国第一个王朝夏朝起,先后有13个王朝在此建都,是中国建都最早、历史最长的古都。隋唐时期,洛阳人口百万,是当时世界上最繁华的大都市之一。

      洛阳的名胜古迹很多,沿洛河排列的夏、商、周、汉魏、隋唐五大都遗址举世罕见,为誉为“五都荟洛”。另外还有古墓博物馆、王城牡丹园、王城广场等景点。

      今天的洛阳也是新兴的工业城市,以拖拉机、矿山机械、轴承工业著称,刚加工、棉纺织、炼油等工业也很发达。同时是陇海、焦柳等铁路的交通枢纽。

龙门石窟
      龙门石窟于甘肃的敦煌石窟、山西大同的云冈石窟并称为中国古代佛教石窟艺术的三大宝库。龙门石窟凿于北魏孝文帝迁都洛阳(494年)之时,现存佛像十万余尊,窟龛2300多个。

白马寺
      白马寺是佛教传入中国后由官方营造的第一座寺院,被誉为中国佛教的“释源”和“祖庭”。

 

The Longmen Grottoes

 

 

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