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Route in China (CHINA - Luoyang)

Bec
2004-09-19 16:18:50

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and founded the Northern Wei Dynasty in the 4th century.

Buddhism flourished during this period of turmoil. The concept of individual salvation became attractive as the rigid structures of the Confucian ethic floundered. Large feudal monasteries were built and the monks imported the practice of carving grottoes lined with images of Buddha from Afghanistan and from India where it had originated. The three major sites of this contribution to Chinese art can be seen in Dunhuang in the west, in Datong to the north and here in Luoyang.

The Yungang caves near Datong were carved in the 5th century under the patronage of the Northern Wei Dynasty. At the turn of the century, the Wei moved their capital south to Luoyang and work started on the Longmen Caves. More than 100 000 images of Buddha were carved in this cliff mostly in the 6th and 7th centuries.

At the end of the 6th century China was once more united by the Sui shortly followed by the Tang Dynasty which started to decline in the 8th century. China broke up again at the turn of the 9th century and suffered turmoil until it reunited again under the Song Dynasty in 960 who established their capital in Kaifeng instead of Luoyang.

The Song soon had to move their capital to Kaifeng and finally, the Jurchen barbarians overran the northern provinces in the 12th century, chased the Song out of Kaifeng to Hangzhou in the south and completely destroyed Luoyang leaving only these caves as witness of the glorious past.

The presence of a camel in Luoyang is not surprising if one considers that the Xi'an - Luoyang region was the starting point of the great silk road west that enabled trade with Persia, Rome and later, Europe.

Apart from the Number One Tractor Plant there was little to see in modern Luoyang. The narrow streets of The Old City were much more interesting.

Trusting my wrist compass I walked west until I came to this busy street and from here I found my was back to my hotel near the train station.

I had checked out of my hotel, I had managed to wrangle a soft sleeper berth to Beijing from the China International Travel Service, familiarly known as the CITS. I was ready to go but I still had four hours to wait for my 9:30 train so I went to the station, sat on the steps and looked at the world go by.

These students walked by and, seeing that I had nothing to do, asked me politely if they could practice their English with me. I was of course delighted and we chatted about their everyday problems and their hopes for the future. Time went by very rapidly. It was a nice experience, there were good vibrations but I did not even get their names...

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