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The Old Town itself is fascinating in places - lovely streets with whitewashed and half-timbered houses above which poke the roofs of old temples and narrow alleys crossed by wires on which climbing plants are trained. The best streets to wander are Nan, Xi and Dong Dajie. Near their intersection is a wonderful shop selling musical instruments, lion masks and theatrical properties. Nearby, leading up to Zhongzhou Donglu is a country vegetable market - cabbage, cucumbers, chillies, ginger and peanuts. The next street- full of life and colour specialises in pot plants, especially roses, cacti, goldfish and caged birds. Back towards the hotel, the no.9 bus passes Wangcheng Park - the centre of Luoyang's peonies in the first half of April. They have been collected and cultivated until there are many thousands, of over 150 varieties to be seen; not only in Wangcheng but also in the newer park Zhi Wu Yuan and indeed on every available patch of ground in Luoyang - an extraordinary and splendid sight. The peony motif is also everywhere in the city, from trellis to rubbish bin. Even out of season Wangcheng is an attractive park, sloping to a bridge across the river and considerably less crowded. Unusually for a Chinese park it has been left quite wild in places, awaiting excavation. In the more formal areas there is loud music and motley display of animals- snakes, tortoises and two unhappy owls on a string. These mini zoos are often eccentrically run by families who sleep on the premises- sometimes in the empty cages!
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Excavations already undertaken in the park have uncovered much of the Zhou capital of 771BC - wall, palaces, temples and marketplace- but these are recognisable only by experts. Some fine bronzes found here are now in the museum. Across the suspension bridge there are also two Han Tombs, one with some good early murals. Otherwise almost all that is left of the ancient cities has been gathered into the museum, very near the park. A modern building, but attractively traditional in style, it is chronologically: look in Hall 2 for the Shang bronzes and an endearing jade tiger from the Zhou; Hall 4 has some Wei statuary which looks heavily influenced by India as well as a model farm from a Han tomb with a sow and her row of piglets. In Hall 5 you'll find some comical Tang polychrome figures, including camels and a travelling merchant keeling over, under the weight of his pack.
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Outside the city, Longmen caves, Guan Lin and Bai Ma Si can all be visited in a single day's excursion from Luoyang or each can easily be reached individually in a short trip out from the
centre. If you have limited time, the Buddhist carvings at Longmen are the place to head first; however little you know about Buddhism or about sculpture, you cannot help but be impressed by the scale and complexity of the work and by the extraordinary contrast between the power of giant figures and the intricate delicacy of the miniatures. The only problem here is with the crowds- the caves are often quite overrun. If possible go early in the morning, late or at lunchtime. Guan Lin - A Taoist temple- is less striking, but beautiful nonetheless and refreshingly tranquil. Bai Ma Si, or White Horse temple is similar in atmosphere - it has a convincing claim to be the first Buddhist temple founded in China.
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