Central Plains

Tourist Guide to the Ancient City of Luoyang in the Han and Wei Dynasties

Northern Wei Luoyang · Yongning Temple Pagoda Base · Site of the Imperial Academy

The old city of Luoyang from the Han and Wei dynasties was the capital of the Eastern Han, Cao Wei, Western Jin, and Northern Wei dynasties. The city site was large in scale, with surviving rammed earth city walls, the foundation of Yongning Temple pagoda, and the site of the Imperial Academy. There are no reconstructed buildings; what you see is the scale and stratigraphy of the ruins themselves.

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Destination Details

Key facts

Best seasonApr–Jun / Sep–Nov

Suggested stay1.5–2.5 hours

Key highlightsCity Wall Ruins · Yongning Temple Pagoda Base · Taixue Ruins · Tongtuo Street

Admission ticketRuins park, some areas require a guided tour reservation

TrafficAbout 15 kilometers east of Luoyang city center

The ancient city of Han and Wei Luoyang is located between downtown Luoyang and Yanshi. Serving as a capital for nearly six hundred years, it is one of the longest continuously used capitals in ancient China. The layout established after the Northern Wei moved to Luoyang laid the foundation for the ward system of Chang'an during the Sui and Tang dynasties.

Highlights

City Walls and Tongtuo Avenue

The existing rammed earth city walls can still be discerned intermittently, with the highest parts remaining several meters high. Tongtuo Avenue served as the central axis of the Northern Wei capital, about 40 meters wide, with government offices and temples along both sides.

Yongning Temple Pagoda Base

Built by Empress Dowager Hu of the Northern Wei, the pagoda was recorded to be a hundred zhang tall, the tallest building in Luoyang at the time, later destroyed by lightning-induced fire. The existing square rammed earth pagoda base still reveals the scale of the original structure. A large number of clay sculpture fragments of exquisite craftsmanship have been unearthed at the site.

Imperial Academy and Mingtang

The ruins of the Eastern Han Imperial Academy, Mingtang, and Biyong are tangible artifacts for understanding the Confucian system and ritual architecture of the Han Dynasty.

Recommended Duration

1.5 hours: City walls and Yongning Temple Pagoda Base.
Half a day: Add the Imperial Academy and museum displays.

Local Tips

The site predominantly features rammed earth, so viewing is best with a guide or after seeing the museum exhibits.
Combined with Yanshi Erlitou and Longmen Grottoes, it can make a full day of archaeological exploration in Luoyang.