Henan Highlight Tour

Arrival at Zhengzhou by train in the morning (train tickets excluded), you are met by our English speaking tour guide and get on a private air-conditioned vehicle for a short tour in the city proper of Zhengzhou. First visit Henan Museum . As one of the four grand museums in China, Henan Museum is a history and art museum with an area of more than 100,000 square. There are basic exhibition halls, specialized exhibition halls and provisional exhibition halls. For the first batch of exhibitions, two basic displays and six specialized displays are offered. They are rich in contents, presenting a spectacular sight to visitors. Then drive southwest for about 80km for the city of Dengfeng. On the route, make a detour to visit Dengfeng Observatory (Gaocheng Astronomical Observatory), a World Heritage Site in Duke Zhou Gong's Temple, Gaocheng Town, near Dengfeng. The great observatory was constructed in 1276 in the early Yuan Dynasty to observe the movement of the sun, the stars and record time. Continue to drive to the city of Dengfeng . In 2010, several of the most famous sites around Dengfeng were listed under the title "Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in "The Centre of Heaven and Earth"." The well known sites include Shaolin Temple, Zhongyue Temple, Songyang Academy and Dengfeng Observatory. Stay overnight in Dengfeng.

After breakfast, first visit Zhongyue Temple . Zhongyue Temple is 5km to the north of Dengfeng city center. It is an important Taoist temple in China dedicated to the God of Mount Songshan. It was originally built in Eastern Zhou Dynasy in 770 BC. In Wei Dynasty, it was renamed Zhongyue Temple and became a taoist temple. Zhongyue Temple was further expanded in the successive dyansities of Tang, Song, Ming and Qing. Move on to Shaolin Temple. Shaolin Temple is established among flourished forests in Mountain Song, so it attained the name "Shaolin". Shaolin Temple was first built in 495AD by Emperor Xiaowen in Beiwei Dynasty for the purpose of housing the famous Indian monk, Batuo, who came to Luoyang, the ancient capital for spreading Buddhism at that period. The Shaolin Temple has many legends and mysteries surround it. The origin of martial arts and the origin of Kung Fu surround the vague mysteries of the Shaolin Temple and the Shaolin Monks. You will visit Shaolin Temple, Pagoda Forest, a graveyard for the monks through the ages and watch Kung Fu Show performed by the professinal performance team from Shaolin Tagou Kung Fu School. Shaolin Kung fu is the most influential martial arts schools in China. After Shaolin Temple, drive 80km further to Luoyang. On the route, visit the White Horse Temple . The White Horse Temple in Luoyang is the first Buddhist temple in China, the important cradle of Chins's buddhism, which was introduced into China from India in 68AD in Eastern Han Dynasty (25 AD – 220 AD) , the same year when the white horse temple was built. Stay overnight in Luoyang.

Pick up from your hotel in Luoyang. First visit the Longmen Grottoes . It is situated on the Yihe River bank, about 12 kilometers from Luoyang city. It is one of the three most valuable Buddhist cave and rock carvings in China. The grottoes were first carved during the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534), when the rulers relocated their capital from Datong to Luoyang at the end of the 5th century. The Longmen Grottoes were listed as a World Heritage Site in Nov, 2000. After lunch, head to Tianzi Jialiu Museum . "Tianzi" means emperors while "Jialiu" means their chariots driven by 6 horses. The dicovery of the Tianzi Jialiu Site has great impact on the Chinese archaeology and history. The musuem is built over the sacrificial pit area for the emperors in Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770BC – 256BC) with its capital at the site of the present day Luoyang. The burial of the royal horse and chariots here in Luoyang is earlier than that of terra cotta warriors in during Qin Dynasty (221–206 B.C.) in Xian. Finaly move on to Luoyang Museum . The musuem building covers a construction area of 6,2000 square meters with 230m long, 140m wide. Its outlook resembles to a huge bronze vessel standing on the ground, implying the historical Accumulation of Chinese civilization. Stay overnight in Luoyang

After breakfast, you are free till your transfer to Luoyang Longmen Railway for your next destination. Note: From Luoyang, you may go to Xian, Beijing by highspeed train or overnight train to Shanghai.