Luoyang

Zhen Bu Tong

Founded 1895. THE place for the Luoyang Water Banquet (24 courses, all soup-based). Old Town Center, 393 Zhongzhou East Rd. Luoyang's signature meal.

Shizi Street Night Market

Old Town night-snack street. Luoyang beef-soup with shredded pancake (~5 RMB), unbroken-egg soup, mutton soup, water-banquet snacks. The casual counterpart to Zhen Bu Tong's full Water Banquet.

Shaolin Zen Music Ritual

Outdoor mountain show staged in Daixian Gorge of Songshan, ~7 km southeast of Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng, Henan. 75-min performance combines Zen music, kung fu by ~600 monks, and dance.

Shaolin Temple show, Henan. Pair with Luoyang.

Largest statue in the world

Spring Temple Buddha, Henan. Detour from Luoyang.

Shaanzhou Pit-Courtyard Cave Inn (Sanmenxia)

CANDIDATE STAY - vote on it. Sleep underground in a Dikengyuan: a sunken loess courtyard with cave rooms dug into the walls, warm in winter / cool in summer, national intangible heritage. At the Shanzhou Silo-Cave scenic area, ~30 min by HSR from Luoyang. Several courtyards run guesthouse rooms + meals on site. The 'we slept in a hole in the earth' story. Book the courtyard out for the group where possible.

Guoliang Tunnel (郭亮洞)

1.2 km road tunnel hand-carved through the cliffs of the Taihang Mountains in Huixian, Henan. Dug by 13 villagers from Guoliang Village between 1972 and its opening on 1 May 1977 to connect their isolated settlement.

Cliff-cut road, Henan. Could detour from Luoyang (5h).

Mount Hua / Huashan

Sacred mountain near Huayin in Shaanxi, ~120 km east of Xi'an. Famous for treacherous trails including the cliffside Plank Walk along near-vertical rock. Nicknamed No.1 Steepest Mountain Under Heaven.

Plank walks of death. Near Xi'an, off your route.

Yuncheng Salt Lake / Xiechi Lake

One of China's largest natural salt lakes; one of three major sodium-sulphate inland salt lakes in the world. Southwestern Shanxi. Salt harvested for ~6,000 years. Summer algal blooms turn water vivid technicolor - Dead Sea of China.

Yuncheng, Shanxi. Could combine with Pingyao.

Nanjie Village

Village in Linying County, Luohe, Henan. Widely described as China's last Maoist-style collective. Reverted in 1984 to communal ownership of land, agriculture, and industry. 30% cash + 70% public services. Statues of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, Mao stand prominently.

Last Maoist commune, Henan. Curio.

Zhengzhou - Erqi Memorial Tower

Twin-pagoda monument to 1923 railway strike. You'll likely transit Zhengzhou; quick walk-by.

Terracotta Army (兵马俑)

Funerary sculptures of Qin Shi Huang's army, Lintong District, Xi'an. Buried with the first emperor of China. UNESCO.

Xi'an. World icon. Significant detour from your route - 4-5h HSR from Luoyang.

Medicinal Herb Market

Bozhou, Anhui. World's largest TCM market.

Huaqing Pool / Huaqing Palace

Historic hot-spring complex at the northern foot of Mount Li, ~25 km east of Xi'an, Shaanxi. Three millennia of imperial use (Zhou, Qin, Han, Tang). Tang romance of Emperor Xuanzong and Yang Guifei. Site of the 1936 Xi'an Incident.

Xi'an imperial baths.

Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area (九寨沟)

72,000-hectare Y-shaped valley system in Jiuzhaigou County, Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, northern Sichuan. Multi-coloured lakes, multi-level waterfalls, forests. UNESCO (1992); admission timed and capped at 41,000 per day.

Multi-colored lakes. October peak foliage. Far but world-class.

Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area (黄龙)

High-altitude valley in northern Sichuan famous for terraced calcite travertine pools, waterfalls, hot springs and snow-capped peaks. UNESCO World Heritage Site (1992).

Huanglong, Sichuan. Stunning but distant.

Li Jiawan Grand Ginkgo King

Reputed world's largest ginkgo tree, in Longnan, Gansu. ~30 m tall, ~15 m combined trunk girth. Hollow interior >10 m^2 - a local farmer once sheltered with his cattle inside it.

Li Jiawan ginkgo - peak gold ~mid-Nov, just barely past your trip window.

Maijishan Grottoes

Tianshui. Spectacular but off route.

St. Regis Lhasa Resort

Lhasa - major detour, Tibet permits required.

World's highest monastery

Rongbuk, Tibet. Permits required.