Henan: choose Longmen, Shaolin, Yin Xu, Kaifeng or Yuntai

Choose carved Buddhist art and a separate museum day. Longmen's original stone carvings and Luoyang Museum's city collections give this the broadest first Henan history base. Plan the full Luoyang city stay →

Three nights in one Luoyang city hotel: arrive and orient, give Longmen one unhurried day, reserve a different period for Luoyang Museum, then leave from the exact booked station.

Book the station printed on the train ticket. From Luoyang Longmen Station 洛阳龙门站, the Longmen operator estimates 4 km and 10 minutes by car to the grottoes, or about 42 minutes on bus 71 to its bus stop. From Luoyang Station 洛阳站, it lists bus 81 at about 1 hour 5 minutes. Reach the northeast or northwest service area from your hotel by bus, taxi or hotel-arranged car; allow another 25 or 20 minutes to walk to the checkpoint, respectively, or use the operator's CNY 10 one-way electric cart.

Return from the same service area to the hotel, then to the station on the outbound ticket. Reserve the museum's slot and bring the original passport; leave time after the grotto visit for the booked rail transfer.

The operator's distances, ride times and CNY 10 cart fare are published guidance, read 27 September 2026. Ask about the last bus or cart for the travel date before choosing a late grotto exit.

These three nights leave out Shaolin's temple landscape, Anyang's Shang capital, Kaifeng's Song-themed city and the Yuntai gorge stay.

Choose a temple and martial-arts landscape. UNESCO's Dengfeng property has several monument clusters; this stay selects Shaolin and its Pagoda Forest.

Two nights in one Dengfeng town hotel: a road arrival, one Shaolin-focused day and a separate rail exit. Keep a different Songshan hike only if its gate, conditions and return earn extra time.

Arrive at Zhengzhou East Station 郑州东站 and take a prebooked taxi or hotel-arranged car to the named Dengfeng hotel. Arrange a separate ride to the Shaolin scenic visitor entrance 少林景区入口. Use a coach instead when its current boarding point and return fit both legs.

Set a pickup from the Shaolin exit back to Dengfeng, then take the prebooked hotel-to-Zhengzhou East car for the issued train. The 2023 Zhengzhou East P5 coach report is a route lead; obtain current departures from the operator.

Reserve the actual scenic admission and find the temple or Pagoda Forest entrance on the ticket. The observatory and other Songshan clusters need their own time and transport.

This two-night temple stay gives up Longmen and Luoyang Museum, Yin Xu, Kaifeng and a Yuntai mountain day.

Choose oracle-bone and Shang-capital archaeology. The museum, palace-and-ancestral area and Royal Tombs are distinct places; reserve the first two entries for this stay.

Two nights at one Anyang city hotel: arrive from Anyang East, use a full period for the chosen Yin Xu museum and palace/ancestral site, then return to the station on a separate departure leg.

Book Anyang East Station 安阳东站 and take a taxi or hotel-arranged car to the city hotel. Reserve Yin Xu Museum 殷墟博物馆 and the Palace and Ancestral Shrines site 宫殿宗庙遗址 separately; arrange a ride between their entrances when visiting both.

Arrange each site-to-hotel return and the hotel-to-Anyang East car before buying a tight onward train. The free station bus ran from 20 June to 24 August 2025; use a current service only after the operator provides its dates.

The Royal Tombs require another gate, ride, ticket and return. Use the museum's current reservation channel for its passport and admission method.

This archaeology stay gives up Luoyang's Buddhist carvings and museum, Shaolin, Kaifeng and Yuntai.

Choose old-city streets with a staged interpretation of Song-era urban life. The garden is a modern cultural scenic area; Yin Xu offers the excavated archaeology alternative.

Two nights at one Kaifeng old-city hotel: arrive from Kaifeng North, use a main period for the city and garden, and protect a separate rail return. Any evening performance needs its own current product and exit plan.

Book Kaifeng North Station 开封北站 and take a taxi or hotel-arranged car to the old-city hotel. Walk or ride to the garden's Yingbin Gate 迎宾门 on the ticket. Kaifeng Station 开封站 and Songcheng Road Station 宋城路站 need separate pickup plans.

Return from the garden's actual exit to the hotel, then take a prebooked car to Kaifeng North for the outbound train. The 2024 festival bus notice identifies the corridor; arrange this return using a service running on your travel date.

Reserve the current garden admission and evening show separately. A late show needs a booked ride back to the hotel; use a following-day train.

Kaifeng's city and performance focus gives up Longmen, Shaolin, Yin Xu and the gorge landscape in these two nights.

Choose red-cliff gorges, streams and a weather-dependent scenic day over the province's capital and temple stories. This is the Yuntai Mountain near Jiaozuo and Xiuwu.

Two nights at one confirmed Anshang 岸上 service-area hotel if its scenic-bus access and exit ride work; otherwise use a named station-side hotel and a separately proven round trip. Arrival, one main gorge day and rail exit each need space.

Book Xiuwu West Station 修武西站 or Jiaozuo Station 焦作站 as printed. The April 2026 tourism guide names a bus or tourist line to Baijiayan 百家岩; obtain today's boarding and return from the operator, or prebook a taxi or hotel-arranged car there. From Baijiayan, take the scenic bus to Anshang 岸上, then use the hotel pickup or signed walking route and the bus to the chosen gorge stop.

Reserve the Anshang-to-Baijiayan scenic bus and a car or current bus from Baijiayan to the booked rail station. The Anshang-to-Jiaozuo direct coach notice covered 1–5 May 2026; arrange a separate return for other dates.

Rain, road controls or a suspended scenic shuttle can remove a gorge day. Hold a station-side final night when the last Anshang-to-Baijiayan departure leaves too little margin.

This landscape stay gives up the Luoyang, Dengfeng, Anyang and Kaifeng heritage days.