LuoYangCityInstruction 　　LuoyangislocatedinthewesternpartofHenanprovince,stretchingacrossthemiddlereachesoftheYellowRiver.Ithasjurisdictionover1city,8countiesand6districtswithatotalareaof15,208squarekilometersincluding544squarekilometersofurbanarea.Itspopulationtotals6.24millionofwhichover1.40millionlivinginurbanareas.Asacityfamousforitssplendidhistoryandprofoundculture,LuoyanghasbecomeashininggemincentralpartofChinaforitsabundantandcharacteristicmoderncivilization. 　　----Luoyanghasbeenknownas"anancientcapitalofninedynasties".ItisamongthefirstcitiestobedeclaredbytheStateCouncilastheancientcapitalsandfamoushistoricalandculturalcities.StartingfromthefirstdynastyofChina---Xia,itservedascapitalfor13dynasties---Shang,WesternZhou,EasternZhou,EasternHan,CaoWei,WesternJin,NorthernWei,Sui,Tang,etc.Itservedasacapitalfor1,529years,andthusofthe7greatancientcapitalsinChina,itwasthefirstonetohaveservedasthecapitalforthemostnumerousdynastiesandforthelongesttime.LuoyangisoneoftheimportantbirthplacesoftheChinesecivilization.CultureintheYellowRiverandtheLuoRiversymbolizedbythePatternoftheYellowRiverandtheWritingofLuoyangisregardedasakeyoriginoftheancientChinesecivilization.ItwasherethatTaoisminitiated,Confucianismoriginated.BuddhismfirstintroducedandLiSchool--aConfucianschoolofidealistphilosophyoftheSongandMingDynastiesborn.ManyChinesedescendantsfoundtheirrootshereandcherishedadeeploveforthehomeland. 　　----LuoyangisoneofthetoptouristcitiesinChinawithitsnumerousculturalrelicsdottedeverywhere,picturesquelandscapeandnationalflower-TreePeony.Thecityhasinheritedfromhistorysuchculturalheritagesasruinsoftheoldcapital,templesandstonecaves,andtombsandsteles.Ithas10nationalsites,75provincialsites,andover571municipalsitestobeprotectedasculturalrelicswithnearly400,000itemsofrelicshavingbeenunearthedandkeptinmuseums.TherareruinsofthecapitalsfromtheXia,Shang,Zhou,HanandWei,SuiandTangdynastiesarenamed"AssemblyofFiveCapitals".LongmenGrottoesisoneofthethreegreatbanksofChinesestonesculpturesthatisaWorldCulturalHeritage.TheWhiteHorseTempleisthefirstofficiallybuiltmonasteryinChinaaftertheintroductionofBuddhism.IntheMangshanMountainthereremainsthelargestgroupofancienttombsinChinafeaturedbyroyaltombs,whichtookformsincetheEasternZhouDynasty.TothenorthofLuoyangistheMotherRiveroftheChinesenation---theYellowRiverthattogetherwithatouristresortsaroundtheXiaolangdiReservoirandWanshanhutouristareainXin'an.TothesoutharespotsofinterestssuchastheSongshanMountainwhichisthecentraloneoftheFiveHighMountainsofChina,anationalforestparkattheBaiyunMountain,LongyuBayandHuaguoMountain,amagicallyshapedCockscombKarstCave,andtouristareaaroundLuhunReservoir.Knownasnationalbeautyandheavenlyfragrance,peonyhasbeenplantedfornearly1,500yearsinLuoyang.AroundAprileveryyear,thepeonycomesintofullbloom,decoratingtheurbanareaswithfloodingcolors.EspeciallytheLuoyangPeonyFestivaltobeheldeveryyear,whichhasbecomeanoccasionthatattractsmillionsoftouristsbothathomeandabroad.Alonghistory,abrilliantaccum