What would be better?

Hello there,

I will be traveling from Shanghai to Xi%26#39;an but I want to visit the Longmen Caves.

Is it possible to fly from Shanghai to Louyang, see the caves and then get the train to Xian on the same day?

Or would it be better to fly straight to Xian and do the caves as a day trip?

I%26#39;ve heard Louyang is not that nice a place to stay.

What would be better?

I%26#39;ve just come back from a self-organised group trip to Luoyang and Shaolin/Dengfeng, last weekend of March.

I would suggest that you take an overnightish train ride Shanghai -- Luoyang, see the Longmen Grottoes then move on to Xi%26#39;an by bus (4 hours, faster than the train).

For the Shanghai -- Luoyang train I would suggest that you take K560/K567 (1749--0853) as this is the best timing you can get sleeper tickets for.

I believe public bus 81 goes directly from Luoyang train station to the Longmen Grottoes, 1.5 RMB/pax and about 50 mins for the journey. Of course you could also take a taxi but that would be more expensive, reckon it to be around 20 RMB?

Note that whether you take public bus or taxi, you%26#39;ll end up at a parking lot where you%26#39;ll still have to walk around 1 km past a whole bunch of tourist shops, then another km through a ';park'; before getting to the ticket entrance!

Tickets now cost 80 RMB/pax.

BTW, April is Luoyang%26#39;s Peony Festival. If you%26#39;re travelling during this month, you might also like to take the opportunity to see one of China%26#39;s national flowers in bloom. Wangcheng Park in town is usually the most convenient venue.

Why do you say Luoyang%26#39;s not that nice a place to stay? I found it (and our hotel) perfectly fine.