Luoyang

The Longmen Grottoes: The Longmen Grottoes, together with the Dunhuang Grottoes in Gangsu Province and the Yungang Grottoes at Datong in Shanxi Province, are known as the three major treasure-houses of Buddhist grotto are in ancient China. In 494 AD, Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty moved his capital to Luoyan and started the construction of the Longmen Grottoes. It boasts a huge collection of more than 100000 Buddhist status and 2300 niches.

the Baima(White Horse)Temple :the Baima(White Horse)Temple was the first officially built Buddhist shrine since Buddhism was introduced into China. It is reputed as the “the Origin of Buddhism” in China.

Jiaozi (Dumpling) Feast :The dishes of a Water Banquet are served in an interesting way.There are 24dishes in all. First served are eight cold dishes: four meats and four vegetables.It is said that Empress Wu Zetian liked this dish so much that after tasting it she cared for no other meat dish for three months.

Liu Xiu Porridge:Liu Xiu was the founder of the Eastern Han. Before he became emperor, he was once badly defeated by Wang Mang, emperor of the Xin dynasty, and had to flee for his life. During his night he became so hungry that he begged a peasant for a bowl of porridge and it tasted real good at the time. Years later, when he had become emperor and had satiated himself with every kind of del1cacy,he suddenly remembered that tasty bowl of porridge he had eaten at the road side and ordered the imperial chef to prepare the porridge for him. The chef made inquiries and found out that the porridge was made from the kernels of a special kind of wheat grown in Luoyang. He obtained a supply of those kernels and prepared a porridge seasoned with such delicacies as swallow's nest and lotus seeds and with green plums and about a dozen other kinds of preserved fruit. This porridge is both tasty and nourishing-it is a popular treat that has been given the name Liu Xiu's porridge

Steamed Dumplings:These dumplings were first made in xian'an County of Henan Province. The stuffing is minced ham mixed with broth and various seasonings. The wrappers are dough prepared with water that has lust boiled and are rolled out into very thin pieces. The dumplings are shaped like crescent moons. They are steamed for about ten minutes in a bamboo steamer and then served. Two characteristics of such dumplings are their thin wrapping –"as thin as paper", --and jade-like color.

The Potted Dish:This is also called the mixed dish, whose ingredients include fried, steamed, and boiled meat balls, fish fried with dough, swallow's nest, meat quick fried in starch, crisp meat, fillet, fried bean curd, fuzhu (dried bean curd), fungus, yulan pian(Slices of tender bamboo shoots) etc.,all half-cooked. These are put into a small earthern pot, to which fresh broth, scallion stalks, and other seasonings are added. The mixture IS then stewed over a slow fire. This is a traditional New Year's dish of LuoYang people.

Starched Noodles:This is made from the bean milk obtained when mung beans are ground to make vermicelli .The milk is allowed to ferment at a suitable temperature and then heated to about 80C when mushroom-like foam appears on the surface. After a small amount of sesame oil has been stirred in, the milk is heated further until it boils-Small quantities of vegetables and noodles are then added and the mixture is boiled to a paste. This is seasoned with chili oil and a preparation of salt, chopped scallion, green beans,peanuts,leek,and celery.It is a dish suitable for both old and young.