Xi'an and Luoyang: the two-capitals trip (1.5 hours apart)
China's two greatest ancient capitals sit ninety minutes apart by high-speed rail. How to chain them — the Longmen Grottoes, the White Horse Temple, when to go (April: peonies), one day vs two, and how the pair compares as a trip.
Why the pairing works
For a thousand-odd years the Chinese empire kept bouncing its capital between Chang'an (Xi'an) and Luoyang — the "two capitals" of dynasty after dynasty; the deep background is in our thirteen dynasties timeline. Today they're ~1.5 hours apart by high-speed rail (¥160–200, frequent departures), which makes the pair the easiest great-history double-header in China: Xi'an's underground army and Ming wall, then Luoyang's cliff-carved Buddhas. For the which-city question alone, see Xi'an vs Luoyang.
What Luoyang gives you
The Longmen Grottoes (龙门石窟, ¥90) — tens of thousands of Buddhist carvings in a river cliff, including the 17-meter Vairocana Buddha; UNESCO, half-day, walkable both banks. The White Horse Temple (白马寺, ¥35) — China's first Buddhist monastery (68 AD), with the odd delight of Indian- and Thai-style annex temples on the grounds. April's peony festival (Apr 1–30) floods the city's parks with the flower Luoyang has canonized for 1,300 years. The city museum rounds out the capital archaeology if you have the second day.
How to chain it
One-day strike: morning HSR out, Longmen (the cliffs are 20 minutes from the station by taxi), afternoon White Horse Temple, evening train back — brutal but doable. The good version (1 night): Day 1 Longmen + old-town evening; Day 2 White Horse Temple + peony parks in season, afternoon return; fold it into a Xi'an stay via our itineraries. Base in Xi'an (far more trains, food and English) and treat Luoyang as the excursion — not the other way round.
Questions, answered
How do I get from Xi'an to Luoyang?
High-speed rail, roughly 1.5 hours, ¥160–200, with frequent daily departures from Xi'an North station. Buy on Trip.com or the 12306 app with your passport — see our high-speed rail guide for the walkthrough.
Is Luoyang worth a day trip from Xi'an?
Yes — the Longmen Grottoes alone justify it, and the White Horse Temple adds China's oldest monastery. A one-day strike is doable; one overnight is the comfortable version. Late March–April adds the peony festival.
How many days do I need for Luoyang?
One full day covers Longmen and the old town; two adds the White Horse Temple and museums at a human pace. Most travelers base in Xi'an and excursion over.
Keep exploring
Visas & entry: do you need one?
Probably less paperwork than you fear — and two of the doors now have their own deep-dive packages: the 30-day visa-free entry (~50 countries) and the 240-hour transit (55 countries, including the US). This page is the router: work out which door is yours, then read its package.
The 240-hour visa-free transit, explained
Ten days in China without a visa, if you're just passing through — including Americans. The rules, the traps, and how to run it through Xi'an.
The 30-day visa-free entry: who gets in free
Around 50 countries can now enter China for up to 30 days with no visa at all — no transit logic, no onward-ticket games. Most of Europe, the UK, Canada, Australia and more. The US is not on the list.