About this tour
Before Beijing, before Shanghai, there was Henan. Three of China's ancient capitals sit in this one province — Kaifeng of the Northern Song, Luoyang of thirteen dynasties, and Zhengzhou still humming above a 3,600-year-old city wall. Five days here is five days at the root of the story.
The loop is built to be unhurried: two nights in Zhengzhou for the Kaifeng day trip, then two in Luoyang for Shaolin, Laojun Mountain and the Longmen Grottoes. You travel in a small group of no more than eight on an air-conditioned coach with a seat each, first-entry tickets to all seven sights are already in the price, and the dinners stay free so you can work through the night markets — Kaifeng's Xisi one night, Luoyang's old town the next.
Two days deserve a warning and a promise. Laojun Mountain sits at 2,200 metres and its golden temple roofs are genuinely spectacular in the cloud — the mandatory first cableway gets you above the hard climbing, and the guide points you off while the mountain does the rest. And the Longmen Grottoes on the last morning are everything people say: 100,000 Buddhas chiselled into a limestone cliff, best seen early before the crowds arrive.
Five days, seven sights, two capitals
The monastery, the 240-odd brick pagodas of the Pagoda Forest and the martial arts show — with a headset so you hear every story.
A UNESCO cliff of 100,000 Buddhas along the Yi River, entered early on your last morning while the light is good.
Ride the cableway into the clouds to the gold-roofed temple complex where Laozi is said to have retreated.
Kaifeng's Song-theme park done properly: the Rainbow Bridge, street performers, sugar-blowers and costume extras everywhere.
Judge Bao's actual courthouse, with the opening ceremony and fire-spitting show — then grazing freedom at Xisi night market.
The city's 1,000-year-old soup-course banquet is included, and Luoyi Ancient City's lantern-lit lanes are an easy evening stroll.
Full itinerary
Pickup, hotel check-in & a free afternoon
Meet and transfer in Zhengzhou
Fly into Zhengzhou Xinzheng Airport or arrive at Zhengzhou or Zhengzhou East railway station — the driver and guide track your flight or train and meet you on arrival for the ride to your hotel.
Free afternoon — take it or spend it
No coach, no guide, no meals today. If you land early, the hotel's metro links make easy targets of the Henan Museum (closed Mondays, reserve a day ahead), Only Henan theatre town, the Erqi Tower or a bowl of Heji stewed noodles.
Rest up for the week
Your guide contacts you the evening before day 2 with the exact pickup time. Zhengzhou's food streets are close by if you want dinner out.
Kaifeng Prefecture, Millennium City Park & the night market
Drive to Kaifeng
About 90 minutes east to the capital of the Northern Song — once the largest city on earth.
Kaifeng Prefecture
The restored office-and-court of the Song capital's chief magistrate — Judge Bao himself. Watch the gate-opening ceremony, the mock trial and the fire-spouting acts around the halls and exhibition rooms.
Lunch: Kaifeng soup dumplings
The city's signature xiaolongbao — thin skin, hot broth, careful fingers. Included.
Millennium City Park — five full hours
A vast Song-dynasty theme park rebuilt from the scroll painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival. Cross the Rainbow Bridge, watch acrobats, folk shows and sugar-blowers, rent a costume if you like — the five hours go faster than you expect.
Xisi night market
An hour of grazing freedom at Kaifeng's classic night market — mutton soup, peanut cake, almond tea. Dinner here is on you; that's the point.
Back to Zhengzhou
Ninety minutes home and straight to bed — Shaolin is an early start.
Shaolin Temple, White Horse Temple & Luoyi Ancient City
Drive into the Song mountains
South-west to Dengfeng, the town under Mount Song and the birthplace of kung fu legend.
Shaolin Temple & the Pagoda Forest
The monastery founded in 495 AD, its exercise yards, the stele courts and the Pagoda Forest — 240 brick tombs of abbots across 1,300 years — plus the monks' kung fu performance. A free headset is included so you hear the stories clearly.
Lunch
Included, near the temple or on the road to Luoyang depending on the day's rhythm.
White Horse Temple
China's first Buddhist monastery, founded in 68 AD — the "cradle of Chinese Buddhism". Halls of Yuan, Ming and Qing carving sit behind the gate, and the international zone adds Thai, Indian and Burmese-style temples.
Shenzhou Peony Garden
One of the main venues of the Luoyang peony festival. In April this is the flower sea Luoyang is famous for; outside the bloom weeks the garden is a pleasant walk, and the itinerary order may shift slightly in peak season.
Luoyi Ancient City by lantern light
The rebuilt "Central Plains ferry crossing" — Wenfeng pagoda, the old Confucian school, city-wall remains and the lanes everyone photographs at dusk. Dinner here is your call.
Check in at Luoyang
Your hotel for the next two nights — bags stay packed light, you return here tomorrow night too.
Laojun Mountain: Laozi's retreat in the clouds
Drive to Laojun Mountain
About 2.5 hours south-west into the Funiu mountains near Luanchuan. Breakfast is at the hotel; the mountain day is the longest drive of the week.
The mountain, at your own pace
Ride the first-stage cableway up (RMB 130 return, payable on site — see the notes) to the Laozi Culture Plaza, then work outward: the Ten-Li Painted Screen cliffs, the cloud walkways and the gold-roofed temple complex on the summit ridge. The guide sets you loose here — the mountain is explored on foot at your own rhythm, roughly six hours.
Bring snacks for the summit
There are shops on the mountain but no proper restaurants — instant noodles, sausages and snacks only. Stock up in the morning if you want a real lunch.
Back down and home to Luoyang
The cableway down, the coach back, and your second Luoyang evening — this one free for the old town or a quiet dinner.
Longmen Grottoes, the water banquet & drop-off
Short drive to the grottoes
Check out with your bags; the coach heads straight to Longmen, just south of the city.
The Longmen Grottoes
Three hours along the Yi River cliffs: 2,345 niches and some 100,000 statues carved across four dynasties, from the Fengxian Temple's colossal Vairocana Buddha to the smallest thumbnail-sized figure. A free headset is included; the riverside walk is easy going.
Farewell lunch: the Luoyang water banquet
Luoyang's thousand-year-old banquet of soup courses — the signature dish of the city, and a proper send-off. Included.
Return to Zhengzhou and drop-off
The coach runs back to Zhengzhou and drops in order at Xinzheng Airport, Zhengzhou Station and Zhengzhou East Station — sequence set by everyone's flight and train times that day. Allow an hour of slack in your plans; the drop-off is handled by the driver without the guide. Tour ends.
Times follow the standard day plan and assume normal traffic. Sights use real-name reservations — we take your passport details at booking. In April's peony season, crowd control may reorder the day-3 visits without dropping any sight, and peony blooms depend on the weather.
Two bases, two nights each
Comfortable 2-diamond standard hotels, listed in your quotation
Simple, clean and well-located business hotels — the Chinese 2-diamond standard. Zhengzhou hotels sit near metro lines; the Luoyang hotels are chosen for the early starts.
- Standard twin or king room, two travellers sharing
- Reference hotels: in Zhengzhou, Yona, Haitian Holiday or Maigaode; in Luoyang, Yuexuan Zhenpin, Lan'ou, Lanrui, Gemm or GreenTree — or a same-standard substitute if any is full
- No triple rooms — solo travellers pay a single supplement; most hotels don't provide toiletries, so bring your own
- Want to arrive early or stay on? Extra nights can be booked for you, but airport pickup is only included on day 1 and drop-off on day 5
What's included, and what isn't
✓ What's Included
- Air-conditioned tour coach with one seat each, days 2–5
- Day-1 airport/station pickup in Zhengzhou and day-5 drop-off
- First-entry tickets to all seven sights: Kaifeng Prefecture, Millennium City Park, Shaolin Temple, White Horse Temple, Shenzhou Peony Garden, Laojun Mountain, Longmen Grottoes
- 4 hotel breakfasts + 3 lunches, including the Luoyang water banquet and Kaifeng soup dumplings
- 4 nights in 2-diamond standard hotels — two in Zhengzhou, two in Luoyang
- Local guide throughout (driver-guide when the group is under 7, with scenic-area guides at White Horse Temple and Longmen)
- Free headset at Shaolin and Longmen
- Travel agency liability insurance and travel accident insurance
— Not Included
- Transport to and from Zhengzhou (flights or high-speed rail)
- Laojun Mountain first-stage cableway, RMB 130 return — payable on site, required to reach the summit area
- Optional on-site extras: Shaolin shuttle RMB 25, Longmen shuttle RMB 20, Laojun second cableway RMB 80, White Horse Temple shuttle RMB 10
- Dinners and meals not listed — the night markets are the point
- Single-room supplement
- Personal expenses and anything not listed as included
Good to know
Bookings, walking & the seasons
- All sights are real-name reserved in advance — send your passport details when you book, and carry your passport every day
- If White Horse Temple tickets sell out on a holiday, the visit is swapped free of charge for the Yingtianmen Site Museum
- Laojun Mountain sits high: even with the cableway there are stairs and ridges. The guide does not climb with you — it's a free-exploration mountain. Bring layers; summit weather changes fast
- There are shops on Laojun Mountain but no restaurants — bring snacks or lunch money for the summit
- April is peony season: expect crowds, possible re-ordering of day 3, and blooms that depend on the weather. Spring and autumn are the best windows for the whole route
- Free cancellation up to 7 days before departure (ticket-loss charges only if we've already issued your transport)
Start, end & getting there
- Start: Zhengzhou Xinzheng Airport (CGO), Zhengzhou Station or Zhengzhou East high-speed station, day 1 — pickup included, one transfer per booking
- End: Zhengzhou, day 5 late afternoon — the coach drops in order at the airport and both stations, timed to the group's flights
- Zhengzhou is about 4 hours from Hong Kong by high-speed rail via Guangzhou, or a short flight from Shenzhen or Guangzhou
- This route pairs well with Xi'an — Luoyang to Xi'an is under 2 hours by high-speed rail. Ask for a combined quotation
Frequently asked
Is this a private tour?
No — it's a small-group departure capped at 8 travellers on one coach, confirmed with as few as 2. If you'd rather have the coach, guide and dates entirely to yourselves, ask us for the private version of this itinerary.
How hard is Laojun Mountain?
The first-stage cableway takes most of the climbing out of it. Above the top station there are stairs and cliff walkways — some people see the golden temples in an hour, others spend the whole six. The second cableway (optional, RMB 80 return) shortens it further. Take the day at your own pace; the guide doesn't climb with the group.
What if a ticket sells out?
Chinese sights use real-name reservations that open days ahead, and we book them as soon as your dates are fixed. The one that occasionally sells out on holidays is White Horse Temple — in that case you visit the Yingtianmen Site Museum instead at no extra cost.
What food is included, and what about the rest?
Four breakfasts and three lunches: Kaifeng soup dumplings, two standard tour lunches and the Luoyang water banquet. Dinners are deliberately left open — Xisi night market in Kaifeng and Luoyi Ancient City are two of the best street-food evenings in China, and being chained to a group dinner would waste them.
When is the price available?
The per-person pricing for this small-group departure is being finalised right now. Send an enquiry or a WhatsApp message and you'll get the full quotation — with departure dates — as soon as it's released.
Is it suitable for children or older travellers?
Generally yes — the walking is moderate and the two-base plan avoids packing every night. Children under 12 or under 1.4 m travel at a reduced rate without their own bed, breakfast or tickets. The two long days are Kaifeng (lots of walking) and Laojun Mountain (altitude and stairs) — tell us your group's ages when you enquire and we'll advise honestly.