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 Ruyan, 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 scatted 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, 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 early April.
The jurisdiction really takes care of its citizens, under the present administration. I have been to China two decades ago, many times and the fare still remain at CNY1 in some cities. Sanya is an exception, fare is 5CNY for same distance as buses in Luoyang. Transportation fare. ranging from CNY 1-1.50 for local buses and 2-4 for metro, To Ruyang Bus Station about 1hr 50mins ride by coach 888 available at Luoyang Bus Station (different from Luoyang Railway Station stop) the full fare is CNY10, to Yichuan is CNY5.
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.
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, however, it is getting hotter after 5 May 2026, Lixia day, start of summer.