2-Day tour of Longmen Grottoes & Shaolin Temple from Beijing by high speed train

Day 1: Beijing - Luoyang (Lunch)

You are picked up from your hotel or residence in downtown Beijing and transferred to railway station for high speed train to Luoyang by G671 (08:15-12:28) on 2nd class seat.

Upon arrival, your Luoyang guide will meet you and take you directly for a lunch of popular regional dishes. After lunch, your first stop is Longmen Grottoes, which is one of the four major cave clusters in China and an UNESCO World Heritage Centre. There are more than 2,340 niches located on the hills. Enjoy a guided walk along the riverbanks to see the highlights, admiring the earliest niches with their simple Buddha statues and admiring the lush scenery around the caves.

You will then move on to Luoyang Museum which has a collection of more than 100,000 pieces of cultural relics through the ages reflecting the historic development of the city. Afterwards, we will take you to the Old Town of Luoyang to explore some of the shops and take a look at the architecture.

Overnight at a 4 star centrally located Luoyang hotel

Day 2: Luoyang - Beijing (Breakfast, Lunch)

This morning, you will check out hotel and depart for visit to Shaolin Temple. It was founded in the year 496, during the Northern Wei Dynasty, in honor of an Indian monk called Bodhidharma, known in Chinese as Da Mo, founder of the Mahayana sect of Buddhism. The temple is therefore regarded as the birthplace of Chinese Buddhism. Shaolin Kung Fu is the product of the synthesis of other martial arts principles into a distinctive martial art style. In recent years, renewed interest in Kung Fu has led visitors, western and otherwise, to the steps of the temple where schooled martial arts started, both for visits and for long-term retreats. During your visit to the temple you will be able to watch an incredible Kung Fu show put on by some of the professionals at the temple.

Your lunch will be arranged at the famous Yongtai Temple vegetarian restaurant to experience vegetarian food.

Then proceed to Songyang Academy, one of the four biggest Academies of Classical Learning in the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279), gives a complete depiction of Chinese ancient education. There is a 3000-year old cypress tree in the Academy’s courtyard; It is believed to be the oldest in China. It is a paradise for study because the environment is extremely serene and beautiful.

When the tour ends you will be escorted to Luoyang Longmen station and take high-speed train G666 (17:34-21:31) back to Beijing on 2nd class seat. Upon arrival, you will be met and transferred back to your hotel.