Luoyang in Brief

Located to the west of Henan Province, Luoyang is known as the city of peonies. Every April there is a large-scale Peony Festival held which attracts millions of tourist both from home and abroad. Besides as one of Chinas seven ancient capitals, there are large number of historical sites and relics which make Luoyang as one of the most popular tourist cities in China. Today, Luoyang is the leading industrial and commercial center with major industries of petrochemistry, metallurgical industry, construction material, fabrics and food products.

Geographic Features

Luoyang is situated at between 111o and 112o59 east longitude and between 33o35 and 35o5 north latitude. It has a total area of 210 square miles. It extends about 168 kilometers from north to south and nearly 179 kilometers from east to west. With Mang Mountain in the north, Longmen Mountain in the south, Qinling Mountain in the west and a plain in the east, Luoyang is regarded as a city of great military strategic value. More than ten rivers, such as the Yellow River, Luo River and Yi River and so on run across the city. Located between the temperate continental climate zone and northern subtropical climate zone, Luoyang enjoys four distinct seasons. Its spring and autumn are relatively short comparing with the summer and winter. The average annual temperature is 14.7Co . The city receives an average annual rainfall of 601 millimeters.

People

Luoyang has a population of 6.28 million including the 1.4 million in the city proper. The main inhabitants are Han nationality which takes 98.8 percent of total population. The main minority nationalities include the Manchurians, Mongolians, and Muslims. The main religion here is Buddhism and Taoism. The natives speak Henan dialect, but the government language is still mandarin.

History

The history of Luoyang can be dated back to 4,000 years ago when Xia Dynasty-the first dynasty in Chinese history made Luoyang as the capital. There were in total thirteen dynasties in the history made their capitals in Luoyang.