4-Day Henan Ancient Capitals Tour: Luoyang, Shaolin & Kaifeng

You'll arrive in Luoyang by high-speed train around noon, where our driver will meet you at the station and take you directly to the city. Since you've just arrived, we'll keep the first part of the day comfortable rather than rushing straight into sightseeing.

After a quick lunch, we'll head to the Longmen Grottoes, one of Luoyang's most impressive historical sites and the perfect introduction to the city's ancient past. As you approach the Longmen Grottoes, the scenery begins to change. The Yi River runs between two lines of limestone cliffs, with thousands of Buddhist statues and niches carved directly into the rock faces. It's quite different from looking at sculptures inside a museum—you're seeing them exactly where they were created, surrounded by mountains and water.

We'll spend time exploring the main grotto area, with the West Hill Grottoes being the highlight. Keep an eye out for Fengxian Temple and its enormous Vairocana Buddha, commonly known as the Lushena Buddha. The scale is impressive, but what makes the statue memorable is its calm expression and the way it seems to look down over the river and surrounding cliffs. Take your time here. From some viewpoints, you can see the statues almost blending into the cliff face, while from across the river, the entire grotto complex becomes part of the landscape. If you enjoy photography, the combination of stone carvings, green hills, and the river makes this one of the most scenic stops of the trip. After exploring the grottoes, we'll drive back toward the city.

In the late afternoon or early evening, you'll have time to explore Luoyang Old Town. This is a nice change of pace after the large-scale grottoes. Instead of focusing on monuments, you can simply walk through the old streets, browse small shops, and see a more everyday side of Luoyang. If you're interested in local food, this is also a good time to try some Luoyang specialties. You might come across local snacks, noodles, soup dishes, or even a traditional Luoyang Water Banquet. You don't need to turn dinner into another sightseeing mission—just pick something that looks good and enjoy the atmosphere.

Afterward, we'll take you to your hotel for the night.

After breakfast, your driver will pick you up at the hotel and we'll leave Luoyang for Dengfeng, a city closely associated with Mount Song and the history of Shaolin Buddhism and Kung Fu. The drive takes around 1.5 hours, giving you a chance to relax after breakfast. As you get closer to Dengfeng, the landscape gradually becomes more mountainous, setting the scene for the day ahead.

Our first stop is Shaolin Temple, one of China's best-known Buddhist temples and the birthplace traditionally associated with Shaolin Kung Fu. It's easy to arrive here with images of martial arts movies in your head, but the temple itself offers a much quieter experience. Walking through the temple grounds, you'll see traditional halls, courtyards, old trees, and stone inscriptions, with the mountains of Songshan providing a natural backdrop. Rather than simply rushing from one building to another, take a moment to notice the atmosphere. Shaolin is not famous only because of Kung Fu—it has a long connection with Chan Buddhism, and this spiritual side is an important part of understanding why the temple became so influential.

From the temple, we'll continue to the Pagoda Forest, where numerous ancient pagodas stand among the trees at the foot of the mountain. The pagodas were built as memorials for monks of different periods, so they vary considerably in size, shape, and decoration. Walking among them feels quite different from visiting the main temple. The area is quieter, and the dense collection of stone and brick structures creates a surprisingly atmospheric scene. If you enjoy architecture or photography, this is a place worth slowing down for. Look closely at the different pagoda shapes and carved details rather than treating the area as just another quick photo stop.

After the morning visit, we'll stop for lunch in Dengfeng. You'll have time to sit down properly and recharge before the afternoon Kung Fu performance. We'll keep the schedule flexible enough so that you don't feel like you're eating with one eye on the clock.

After lunch, it's time for the energetic part of the day: a Shaolin Kung Fu performance. The show gives you a completely different impression of Shaolin compared with the quiet temple grounds. You'll see martial arts demonstrations featuring speed, balance, flexibility, and strength, including some moves that look almost impossible when you see them performed live. Even if you're not particularly interested in martial arts, the performance is worth seeing simply for the atmosphere and physical skill involved.

After the performance, we'll leave Dengfeng and drive to Zhengzhou, taking around 1.5 hours. Once we arrive, we'll take you directly to your hotel. The evening is free for you to rest or explore nearby at your own pace.

After breakfast, we'll pick you up from your Zhengzhou hotel and drive to Kaifeng, one of China's most important historic capitals. The journey takes roughly an hour, so there's no need for an early-morning rush. Once you arrive, the scenery and atmosphere begin to feel quite different from Luoyang and Dengfeng. Kaifeng is flat and open, and its history is particularly closely linked with the Northern Song Dynasty, when it was known as Bianjing.

Our first stop is Longting, one of Kaifeng's best-known historic landmarks. The area was closely connected with the imperial city of the Northern Song period. Although the buildings you see today are the result of later reconstruction, the location still offers a good sense of Kaifeng's former importance as a capital. Take a leisurely walk through the grounds and along the central axis. Compared with the mountains and cliffs you saw at Longmen and Shaolin, Kaifeng feels much more open. The gardens, water, and traditional architecture create a slower rhythm that works well after the previous two busy sightseeing days.

After visiting Longting, we'll stop for lunch in Kaifeng. This is a good opportunity to try some local dishes and snacks. Kaifeng has a strong food culture, with everything from traditional Henan dishes to street-style snacks. We'll make sure you have enough time to enjoy lunch without squeezing the rest of the afternoon too tightly.

After lunch, we'll visit the Iron Pagoda, one of Kaifeng's most distinctive historic structures. Despite its name, the pagoda is not actually made of iron. Its brick construction and dark glazed surface give it the appearance that inspired the name. Take a closer look at the details as you walk around it. The decorative elements become much easier to appreciate when you're standing close to the structure rather than viewing it from a distance. After the Iron Pagoda, we'll continue to the highlight of the afternoon.

Our final major stop is Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden, inspired by Zhang Zeduan's famous painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival. Rather than simply displaying historical artifacts, the park recreates the atmosphere of a bustling Northern Song city, with traditional streets, bridges, waterways, shops, performances, and period-style buildings. This is one of those places where it's better not to rush. Walk along the waterways, stop for a performance if something catches your attention, and take your time exploring the old-style streets. As afternoon turns toward evening, the softer light over the buildings and water can make the scenery particularly atmospheric.

After the visit, we'll drive back to Zhengzhou and drop you off at your hotel. You can keep the evening completely free—either have dinner nearby and rest, or head out for a little independent exploration if you still have energy.

After breakfast, you'll have some free time depending on your departure schedule. When it's time to leave, we'll pick you up from the hotel and take you to the appropriate train station or Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport. And that brings your four-day journey through Henan's historic heart to an end—from the cliffside Buddhist sculptures of Longmen, to the temples and martial arts of Shaolin, and finally to the imperial history and lively streets of Kaifeng.