Meeting with the ancients
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, May 21, 2013
Taking a stroll among the lush pomegranate trees and bright blossoms, visitors may be surprised to find that, despite being a favorite tourism spot, Baima Temple grounds can also be a peaceful haunt for quiet reflection. Just be smart and avoid high season.
In the second of the five palaces in the temple, nestles the renowned Baima Bell.
These days, the ancient bell is only rung for special occasions. Its melodious sound, the toll echoed by an old drum in a tower more than 12 kilometers away, resonates across the city, praying for peace and warding off evil spirits.
Another must-see Buddhist site is the acclaimed Longmen Grottoes.
While its attractions of spectacular Buddhist carvings and sculptures, stretches along both banks of the Yihe River, Tang poet Bai Juyi favored the west side. "The best scenery is in west suburban Luoyang," declared Bai.
In fact, the poet loved it there so much that he lived a hermit's life in East Xiangshan Mountain in his later days. Baiyuan Garden has been built around his tomb, with waterfalls, bamboo groves, ponds filled with white lotus and inscriptions of Bai's poems.
The 120 yuan (US$19.54) admission to Longmen Grottoes includes entry to Baiyuan Garden and the former villa of Chiang Kai-shek. It takes about two hours to flit between the sites.
Why not make the ticket worth and take your time? And when night falls, you will be rewarded with an awesome view of the Longmen Grottoes.
Old-town hustle and bustle
Like Shanghai, with Pudong New Area, Luoyang too has a new area for urban development - to the south of Luohe River. Yet many Luoyang people still prefer to stay in the crowded old town, with Lijing Gate its focal point.
Luoyang's national heyday has long past, now only found in novels and historical accounts, but the rebuilt Lijing Gate helps imagine past glories. The gate, first built in the Sui Dynasty (AD 581-618), was the west gate of the old Luoyang city.
It sets an example for Chinese gates with its complete fortifications of a gate tower, an outer wall, an inner gate wall, a bridge and a moat.
Inside the gate, snack stalls, antique shops, restaurants, tea house, book stores and calligraphy and painting shops have sprung up, their traditional grey brick and tile structures and fluttering shop banners taking you back to ancient times.
Splendidly ancient as it looks, the current Lijing Gate is actually very recent - built on the original site in 2002.
There's a 20 yuan (US$3.25) charge to get the top of the gate tower. So for foodies, I suggest save the few bucks and head to the most exciting part - Luoyang snacks.
The old streets inside the gate house most Luoyang specialties, the most famous of which is Luoyang Shuixi, or Luoyang Water Banquet.
The typical local banquet has 24 dishes, all made with soup and served one by one, like flowing water. Since Luoyang sits in a basin surrounded by mountains, the weather here is dry with limited fruit produce. So residents favor dishes made with soup to balance their diet.
Restaurants offering the water banquet are everywhere in old streets, including big names. However, it takes at least eight people to finish the whole meal. Snacks are an option for those in twos and threes.
Bordering Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces, Henan snacks share some similarities with their neighbors and are mainly spicy and sour. Some popular snacks in the old streets include: hulatang and bufantang (both pepper-flavored soups with different ingredients), guozi youcha (a deep-fried flour stick served in a local oil-based tea made with sesame oil, flour and crushed nuts), lamb and beef soup, huntun, tangmianjiao (a crescent-shaped dumpling) and all kinds of noodles, such as locals' favorite jiangmiantiao - a flavored variety with fermented sauce. Typical desserts include peony cake and pastry, and almond tea.
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