Peony-Themed Luoyang Day Tour

The Peony Culture Festival in Luoyang is typically hosted from early April to early May according to the flowering period. If you are visiting the city during this period, why not choose this 1 day Luoyang tour to Longmen Grottoes and Peony Festival?

In the morning, your guide and driver will pick you up from your hotel or Luoyang Railway Station, and then accompany you to visit the Longmen Grottoes. Standing silently for over 1,500 years, it’s not only a testament to the spread and development of Buddhism in China, but also a pinnacle of ancient Chinese stone carving art. The Yi River divides the complex into the East and West Sections, and we’ll spend most of the time exploring the latter one with an astonishing 90% of all the Buddhist carvings. As you pause before these innumerable statues, you may wonder why their artistic styles vary so greatly. Your guide will unveil the secret: changing times. There were two peaks of large-scale carving. The first period was from the 5th to the 6th century, when an elegant, free-spirited  temperament was highly valued by ancient Chinese. Thus, you’ll find the statues of this age are mostly slim and graceful, with loose, flowing robes. The second one spanned from the 7th to the 8th century, an era when plumpness was widely admired by society, featuring sculptures with fuller figures, rounder faces, and elaborate finery. See if you can distinguish them based on the guide’s explanation.After lunch, we will attend the Peony Culture Festival, hosted across numerous gardens, to admire fully blooming peonies. The peony has long been hailed as the “King of Flowers” since ancient times in China. And Luoyang, due to its long history of cultivating peonies of more than 1,400 years, is celebrated as the “Peony City”. Its peony features large blooms with over 1,400 varieties in stunning colors, including red, white, yellow, and blue. Based on the time of your trip, we’ll choose one of the following three gardens with the most vigorous blooming period to show you around.

► Famous Peony Gardens You May Visit:
Divine Land Peony Garden is ablaze with 1,000+ domestic and overseas cultivars in mid-spring. Here, we are mainly for the gorgeous “Peony Queen”, over 300 years old. Stroll along the “National Heritage Corridor” to enjoy a 100-meter-long (109-yard) tri-color glazed mural, where vibrant peonies of multiple forms and colors are completely rendered on vitrolites, as well. Also, marvel at world-rare peony stones, naturally formed billions of years ago, or visit the Peony Culture Area to unravel why Luoyang peonies are considered the best across the globe. 

China National Flower Park is the largest blend of a peony-themed park and a natural landscape garden in China. Along the winding paths, feast your eyes on the White Snow Tower peonies, blooming layer upon layer like a sacred white tower. Yao Huang Peony, hailed as the “Peony Emperor”, bursts with ruffled, light-yellow petals, glowing like a golden crown in the sun. Spot the Wei Zi Peony known as the “Peony Empress”. Its deep purple petals shine in a velvety luster, and their tips are tinged with pinkish white. Leaning in, you’ll be suddenly greeted by a rich, sweet aroma.

Sui-Tang Dynasty Ruins Botanical Garden is well-known for China’s one-of-a-kind “Silver Threads Crowning the Bloom” peony, whose tender petals curve into chrysanthemum-like tubes. As a light breeze blows, the clusters and leaves sway gently, as breathtaking as a dynamic oil painting. You’ll have no trouble spotting it at all, since it’s “protected” by staff dressed as ancient sword-bearing guards. Be aware that you might queue up to enjoy it because of its high popularity.

As your Luoyang Peony Festival tour ends, your guide and driver will escort you back to your hotel or drop you off at Luoyang Railway Station. Hope you had an enjoyable time with us. Should you wish to explore more highlights of Luoyang, such as the Buddhist White Horse Temple, Luoyang Museum, and vibrant Old Town, feel free to contact us to customize your trip!

Meal: Lunch► Recommended Nighttime Activities (at your own expense): 
For your night in Luoyang, consider heading to the Luoyang Cross Street Night Market, a hotspot for authentic local flavors and bustling street culture. Take a stroll along the flagstone-paved street illuminated by row upon row of red lanterns on both sides, and immerse yourself in its ancient atmosphere. When passing by those neon-lit food stalls, discover something that interests you among a wide range of Luoyang specialties such as paste noodles, beef ball soup, and fried jelly.