Todd's Travels in China: Day 7: Luoyang & White Horse Temple

Day 7 - Sat. Jan. 4: Took the morning train to Luoyang, the ancient capital of nine dynasties and the eastern starting point of the Silk Road. After checking into the hotel, we met up with our driver again, who took us to a popular local restaurant. Next, we went to Baima Si, the White Horse Temple, China’s oldest Buddhist monastery (AD 68). It is said that Emperor Ming of the eastern Han Dynasty sent a delegation of men to India to study Buddhism. They returned three years later with two eminent Indian monks, She Motong and Zhu Falan, who brought with them a white horse carrying Buddhist sutras. The two monks were the first to translate the Buddhist sutras, and they are entombed in the temple. Outside the temple is China’s oldest ancient pagoda, Qi Yun Tower.

Baima Si (White Horse Temple)

After returning to Luoyang, we finished the afternoon by walking through a section of the old city with traditional buildings and shops. An old man was blowing figurines from different colored rice paste, so for 20 Yuan he made a gold rabbit eating a red radish with green leaves. I was born in the Chinese year of the Rabbit, so it was especially meaningful. Stayed at the Cygnus International Hotel in a room with a giant, oversized, very comfortable bed and a bathtub (the first and only one).