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| ¡¡Luoyang |
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 Luoyang has a long and colorful past, serving as the capital for nine dynasties. The city also served as an important post along the Silk Road, developing into a bustling economic and cultural center from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty. As a result, there are many cultural and historical relics to be traveled in Luoyang, including the Longmen Cave, the White-Horse Temple, the oldest temple in China, Hanjiacang, Baijuyi Tomb and Erlitou cultural ruins in Yanshi.
Luoyang enjoys a temperate climate, with a yearly average of 14.6oC and a yearly precipitation of 600 mm. In industry, there is machine, metallurgical industry, building materials and petroleum process. The output of tractors, bearing, mineral machines, road roller, silicon and glass is in the important place in China. In agriculture, there is wheat, oil and tobacco, etc. The railway and highway are both convenient. |
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| ¡¡Special Reference |
| The White Horse Temple |
White Horse Temple, It is the first Buddhist temple in the Chinese history ever since Buddhism came to China, is magnificent in scope including many halls,chambers and towers like the Hall of Heavenly Kings, Mahavira (great hero) Hall , Hall of thousand Buddhas, Mahavairocana Chamber, Tower of Bell and Drum and so on. Outside of the gate to the temple stand two granite horses carved in the Song Dynasty following the above legend, which look composed but vigorous. The 13-storeyed Qiyun (cloud reaching) Pagoda by the temple, is of classic beauty and in elegant taste, which belongs to the style of cubic shaped, close eaves brick pagodas. |
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| The Longmen Grottoes |
The Longmen Grottoes are caves that hold ancient Buddhist art. They were all carved during the Northern Wei period, more than 1500 years ago, when the capital of China was relocated to Luoyang near the end of the 5th century. The construction for the Grottoes began in 493 AD during Emperor Xiaowen's reign and continued through 6 dynasties. The Buddhists carved these rock temples in order to dedicate them to the Buddha. In total, there are 1,352 caves, 785 niches, more than 97,000 statues and 3,680 inscribed stone tablets. Out of all of these sculptures, 1/3 comes from the Northern Wei Dynasty and the remainder comes from the Tang Dynasty. The carvings located here represent the pinnacle of grotto artwork in China.
The best Buddhist sculpture in China is said to be located here and is the statue of Vairocana Buddha. The stone statues located in Fengxian Cave best represent the typical cave sculptures of the Tang Dynasty. The grottoes have been placed on the List of World Cultural Heritage sites by the 24th UN Heritage Commission on November 30, 2000 |
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| The Shaolin Temple |
The Shaolin Temple was founded in 496 AD during the Northern Wei Dynasty to honor an Indian monk named Bodhidharma. The birth place of Chinese Buddhism is said to have began here and is also the home to China's famous marital arts.
When visiting the temple, one site that must be visited is the Pagoda Forest. There are 243 stupas located inside the temple, all with different architectural styles. The first stupa built here was in 791 AD and the last one can be dated back to 1803 AD. Altogether, there were 6 dynasties that took place during the construction of these stupas.
Inside Shaolin itself, Fangzhang Hall is where the abbots would rest. In 1750, Qing Emperor Qianlong lived in this hall during his visit to the temple. Afterwards, the temple was known as Long Ting, or Hall of the Dragon (due to the belief that the emperor is the son of the dragon).
When entering the temple, one will first see a hall with double eaves with a Bell Tower and Drum Tower located nearby. Daxiongbaodian is the main hall of the temple, which was originally built in the Jin Dynasty but was destroyed in 1928. In the middle of the hall, the Trinity Buddha is enshrined.
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| Kungfu performance |
Dances and entertainment were created by man as man become more skillful in hunting and warfare. These early dances were recorded to be imitations of animals. The early relationship between fighting and dance moves can be seen in the marital dance called The Dance with Shield and Axe. Wrestling was also practiced between soldiers in Butting with Horns.
By the end of this period, unarmed combat was an advanced skill with several methods of attack, defense, feints and counter-attack. Fencing was also common. The Shaolin monks studied Chinese Kung Fu, which was defined at that time as any of the various Chinese martial arts.
The Shaolin Kung Fu is particularly known for the different moves named after animals: Dragon, Tiger, Crane, etc. Kung Fu, meaning ability, was originally used by the West by a Jesuit Missionary named Pere Amoit; however, today, Wushu is the terminology that is better used to describe Chinese martial arts. |
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