Luoyang, Henan
Luoyang is indeed a very beautiful Peony Flower City, clean with well landscaped greenery and colourful flowers along the roads and parks. Even suburban areas like Ruyang, Yichuan are well maintained. However, it is not a very friendly international tourists destination in that it only accords discounts to local senior citizens. Famous Luojun San disallow foreign tourists.
There are so many gardens named with national flower in front that one gets confused. I was misled by Amap app to Luoyang National Flower Garden instead of China National Flower Garden which are 2 different gardens. I wasted 20 CNY (original price 40CNY) only to see few scattered batches of flowers on the left side of the garden in early May of 2026. Wangcheng Garden is so much better than this garden and it is free.
After discovering my mistake, I returned to Luoyang Railway Station to take 1.5CNY bus 81 to the China National Flower Garden, paid 30 CNY upon hearing that there are still peony flowers. It was a disappointment upon entering, not being greeted by flowers along the way. Only subsided after reaching Wuyuefang, an indoor flower garden, displaying big beautiful multicolour peonies.
Peony Garden is an open garden with free admission, but most flowers had wilted. Best period to visit Luoyang is in early April.
The jurisdiction really takes care of its citizens, under the present administration. Transportation, sightseeing discounts, priority queue at train stations, are accorded to seniors, disability citizens, military personnels and at times teachers. I have been to China two decades ago, many times and there are still bus fare at CNY1 now, in some cities. Sanya is an exception, fare is 5CNY for same distance as buses in Luoyang. Transportation fares. ranging from CNY 1-1.50 for local buses and 2-4 for metro, To small Louyang towns like Yichuan or Ruyang, fares range from 5-10CNY, buses are usually in triple digits. Ruyang Bus Station about 1hr 50mins ride by bus 888 available at Luoyang Bus Station (different from Luoyang Railway Station stop) the full fare is CNY10, bus 501 to Yichuan is CNY5. Luoyang only has 2 metro lines, 1 & 2.
The bus stops have signs on both sides displaying in big, bold black print the bus numbers serving the stops. From the bus, it is visible. This is the best design I have seen so far.
For fare payments, I can use Alipay for bus but not on metro which requires local ID input. After getting help from the Metro station staff to configure my Weixin, I am able to use Weixin on both Metro and local bus. Same applies to Zhengzhou, which I can use Alipay for metro but not bus. Weixin can be used on both platforms in Zhengzhou and Luoyang.
To get away from the 5-1 (Wuyi holiday) maddening crowd and the extorbitant hotel rates (3-4x the normal rate), I went to Ruyang to rest till 5 Apr.
Accommodation here is also reasonably less expensive, which I paid between 75CNY (booked on Baidu) to 88CNY (booked on Meituan) at Yake City Express Hotel, 420m from the railway station. It is near the Luoyang bus station. It is also near to Yingtianmen, Sui & Tang and Wangcheng Square. I always check rates on Trip, Amap, Meituan and Baidu for the cheapest rates and to see the hotel policy of admitting foreigners using passports, which I experienced Zhengzhou has the worst such policy.
As I am not interested and do not understand China’s history being English educated, I only visit places with free admission that do not require hectic walking and climbing especially in hot, humid places. The weather is very pleasant in Luoyang, however, it will get hotter after 5 May 2026, Lixia day, start of summer.
The locals here are helpful and polite. I have not encountered any rude bus drivers during my 11- day Luoyang trip, 28 Apr-8 May 2026. Thus, I will not hesitate should I have the opportunity to visit Luoyang again. However, I had experienced some spitting incidents, twice almost splashed on my foot, in Luoyang and Zhengzhou. That ‘spitting culture’ never dies here in Henan, Best to avoid standing or walking close to old folks.
I dislike visiting cities with rude bus drivers and locals, which I was unlucky to have experienced in Chongqing and Wuhan, (Wuchang Walmart has the best salted cream puff). First encounters with rude bus drivers, hotel front desks give bad impression of the cities and I avoid these two cities.
Thus, I like Luoyang, for its mild April weather, nice people, affordable accommodation and beautiful city. Hope to visit again next Spring.