Luoyang & Shaolin Temple Day Trip from Xian by High-speed Train

My stay in Luoyang that I arranged through Travelchinaguide.com was brief but a very very great experience thanks to my English speaking guide Shirley! We visited the Longmen Grottos, saw a spectacular show at the Shaolin Temple, drove to Zhengzhou to visit the Henan Museum that I highly recommend.

We had a wonderful experience with Cissy From the start, she was punctual, friendly, and extremely knowledgeable about the history, culture, and hidden gems of Luoyang. The explanations were clear and engaging, and she always made sure everyone in the group felt comfortable and included as the weather was very hot and crowded during our visit. What impressed us most was the personal touch Cissy went out of the way to make sure we got on the right train to Beijing and even recommend the best spots to eat.The pace of the tour was just right, and we never felt rushed. Thanks to Cissy, we saw and learned so much more than we could have on our own. Highly recommended for anyone visiting Luoyang.

Even though we had to wake up early and the heat in the longmen grottoes was particularly high, our guide, Cissy, was excellent, not only was she able to explain everything clearly and guide us through the grottoes and the temple but her experience permitted us to see everything in a timely manner. She was knowledgeable, intelligent, understanding, and all around wonderful, going as far as to help us change the train ticket so we could get back to xian earlier. Thank you very much Cissy!!!

This will be a detailed overview of the day trip that my family (husband and two teen daughters) and I did to the Longmen Grottoes 龙门石窟 (Luoyang) & Shaolin Temple (少林寺）(Songshan region) by bullet train from Xi’an. Though a bit hectic, the full day trip worked out very well . Our travel agent, Echo, from Travel China Guide, arranged for us to be picked up early (6:30am) from our Xi’an hotel (located near the City Wall) and driven to the Xi’an North Train Station. From there, we took the high speed train to Luoyang and were met by local guide Jenny and driver Mr. Li. Jenny was an extremely caring and thoughtful guide: She ensured that we were always comfortable and provided a thorough explanation about the history of the mountain carvings. We went to visit the Longmen Grottoes in mid-March, so it wasn’t as crowded as a summer visit. Jenny and Echo were both accommodating, and allowed us to change the second part of our excursion, to a trip to the Shaolin Temple, situated an hour away from Luoyang. I had mistakenly thought the Shaolin Temple experience would involve seeing kung fu-fighting monks meditating in silence; I did not expect the Shaolin Temple to resemble an amusement park replete with fast food restaurants and souvenir shops! At the Temple, visitors can watch a short kung fu demonstration show, apart from visiting the various prayer sites. We opted to have a lovely multi-course dinner near the Luoyang train station arranged by Jenny. Afterwards, we were glad to have Jenny escort us all the way onto the platform of our bullet train back to Xi’an. Unlike major train stops allowing at least 15 mins,Luoyang had only a two-minute window to board, so Jenny helped to fast-track our entry at the ticket gate. Back in Xi’an we were picked up by our morning driver (Mr Han). All in all, a wonderful journey!

Luoyang and Shaolin Temple are fantastic places. Take your camera and take 1,000 pictures of the old and new in China. Luoyang is the old capital and the new peony capital. The old city is behind a huge fortress wall. The night market is great. The old palace and the tower beside it as well as the fortress in front of it are mind-blowing combinations of history and beauty. There's a play in a theatre in the temple that tells the story with live actors and the latest media. The Shaolin Temple compound has chigung and kung fu demonstrations, TCM shops, Damo's Cave. Plan to spend a couple of days in each place.

We went to Luoyang and Anyang. Luoyang museum was very interesting; the Longmen Caves were fascinating and impressive. On the way to Anyang we walked at Yuntai Mountains: busy, but a beautiful place. The highlight of the trip for us was YinXu: the historic site and museum.

China Travel Guide was essential to our 3 weeks tour through the cradle of China. All local guides were knowledgable, friendly and flexible. Everyone going to China should be able to use AliPay and/or WePay. Our first guide in Beijing helped us getting a China Mobile SIM prepaid card which I believe is needed for comfortably traveling through China.

I can highly recommend Travel China Guide to anyone who is willing to travel through China with an open, rational and educated mind. The service is excellent and the local guides have good knowledge of the Chinese history, local customs and interests. Foreigners, should get a Chinese mobile card as soon as they arrive on their first stop and have WeChat and Alipay pre-installed on their mobile device. It will make their travels a joy.

Booked this day tour with Travel China Guide. Travelled with my 73 year old mom, son and 3 great friends. The most wonderful thing about this tour was our lovely guide named Jenny. She is knowledgeable, took good care of us, most of all, she was extremely attentive to my mom as there were many stairs and uneven steps at the Longmen Grottoes. Thank you very much, Jenny!