Luoyang, known as the city of peonies, is located in western Henan Province. Millions of tourists come each April to enjoy the peony gardens for which the city is famous. Luoyang is one of China's seven ancient capitals, and because of its proximity to several impressive tourist sites, such as the Longman Grottos and White Horse Temple, is a destination city for many tourists. It is also a booming commercial and industrial center.
Luoyang is surrounded on three sides by mountains. The Mang Mountain range is in the north, Longmen Mountain in the south, Qinling Mountain in the west and a plain lies in the east. Anciently it was regarded as a city of great strategic military value. The Yellow River, Luo River and Yi River are the major rivers in the area. Luoyang enjoys four distinct seasons, with short springs and falls and comparatively long summers and winters. The average annual temperature is 14.7℃. (58.5F). and average annual rainfall is 600 milliliters.
More than one million people live in Luoyang City proper, but the surrounding area has a population of 6.28 million. Han nationality makes up 98.8 percent of the total population. The main minority nationalities include the Manchurians, Mongolians, and Muslims. The main religions are Buddhism and Taoism.
Luoyang became the capital of the Xia Dynasty-the first of the 13 dynasties in Chinese history 4000 years ago.