How long does the train from Beijing to Luoyang take?

High-speed rail ~4h. Budget roughly 4h door to door, though — the timetable figure leaves out about an hour for stations at both ends. High-speed rail covers this leg in ~4h. Luoyang Longmen station is conveniently close to the Longmen Grottoes themselves.

Which stations do I use?

Beijing West ↔ Luoyang Longmen. Chinese cities often have multiple HSR stations — double-check yours matches this pair before booking, since a wrong-station mistake means an extra cross-city trip.

How far ahead should I book?

Plan around the ordinary 15-day sale window: that is when seats reliably appear on 12306 and Trip.com. China Railway began piloting a 60-day advance reservation in July 2026, and its announcements do not say whether foreign-passport bookings are included — so treat a successful early reservation as a bonus rather than the plan. The decision rule that actually matters: if your dates fall in a public holiday, Golden Week or the Spring Festival travel period, book the moment the window opens; outside those, a day or two ahead is usually enough on a busy corridor, and same-day is often fine on a quiet one.

Route guide · Verified 2026-08-15

Beijing to Luoyang

~850km by high-speed rail — Beijing West ↔ Luoyang Longmen. Here's what it actually costs, how long to budget, and what's worth doing at both ends.

Mode

High-Speed Rail

Distance

~850km

Stations

Beijing West ↔ Luoyang Longmen

Fare (2nd class / economy)

Roughly ¥340–470 second class (per-km estimate)

How long does Beijing to Luoyang take?

On the timetable

High-speed rail ~4h

Door to door, realistically

Booking sites quote the first number. The second is the one that decides your day: it adds about an hour for stations at both ends. Plan the rest of the day around the door-to-door figure and you won't be the person sprinting through a concourse.

Getting there

High-speed rail covers this leg in ~4h. Luoyang Longmen station is conveniently close to the Longmen Grottoes themselves.

Book through the official 12306 system (Chinese-language, real-name ticketing) or through Trip.com's train booking, which has an English interface and handles the passport-based real-name process for you. Either way, carry the passport you booked with — it's checked at the station gate, not just at booking. Our train booking guide has the full sale-window timeline and what to do when a train shows as sold out.

What to do at each end

Beijing

Imperial capital · Great Wall · hutongs

The Forbidden City

Six centuries of imperial power in a single walled city — 980 buildings of vermilion and gold at the exact center of old Beijing. Nothing else in China matches its scale or state of preservation.

Tip: Enter from the south (Meridian Gate) and walk north; set an alarm for the 8pm ticket release exactly 7 days before your date.

Also worth the time: Great Wall at Mutianyu.

Eat: Peking Duck

Lacquered, crisp-skinned roast duck carved tableside, wrapped in thin pancakes with scallion and sweet bean sauce. The city's signature dish for six centuries. Siji Minfu or Jingzun — book a day ahead for dinner.

Luoyang

Longmen Grottoes · Shaolin Temple · water banquet

Longmen Grottoes

Over 2,300 caves and niches carved into limestone cliffs along the Yi River between the Northern Wei and Tang dynasties, with roughly 110,000 Buddhist images. Fengxian Temple's 17-meter Vairocana Buddha — said to be modeled on Empress Wu Zetian — is the single most photographed carving in Luoyang, and a river-level boat ride gives the same view the wide cliff-face postcards use.

Tip: Walk the east bank first for the close-up cave views, then cross the river bridge to the west bank (or take the short boat) for the classic wide shot of the whole cliff face.

Also worth the time: Shaolin Temple.

Eat: Luoyang Water Banquet

A Tang-dynasty banquet tradition: 24 courses served one at a time, mostly soups and saucy dishes eaten with a spoon (hence 'water'), alternating cold, hot, sweet, and savory. Restaurants sell smaller set menus of 8–12 courses for two people rather than the full imperial-scale version. Dedicated shuixi restaurants around the old town — look for '水席' on the sign.

Add both cities to your trip plan →See more routes

Frequently asked questions

How long does the train from Beijing to Luoyang take?: High-speed rail ~4h. Budget roughly 4h door to door, though — the timetable figure leaves out about an hour for stations at both ends. High-speed rail covers this leg in ~4h. Luoyang Longmen station is conveniently close to the Longmen Grottoes themselves.
How far is Beijing from Luoyang?: Roughly 850km, estimated from straight-line geography and typical route factors. Beijing West ↔ Luoyang Longmen.
How much does the train from Beijing to Luoyang cost?: Roughly ¥340–470 second class (per-km estimate).
Which stations do I use?: Beijing West ↔ Luoyang Longmen. Chinese cities often have multiple HSR stations — double-check yours matches this pair before booking, since a wrong-station mistake means an extra cross-city trip.
How far ahead should I book?: Plan around the ordinary 15-day sale window: that is when seats reliably appear on 12306 and Trip.com. China Railway began piloting a 60-day advance reservation in July 2026, and its announcements do not say whether foreign-passport bookings are included — so treat a successful early reservation as a bonus rather than the plan. The decision rule that actually matters: if your dates fall in a public holiday, Golden Week or the Spring Festival travel period, book the moment the window opens; outside those, a day or two ahead is usually enough on a busy corridor, and same-day is often fine on a quiet one.

Verified 2026-08-15. Fare is a budget estimate derived from standard per-km pricing, not an independently checked figure for this specific route — confirm the exact number before booking. Distance is an estimate from straight-line geography and typical route factors, not a measured track length. Schedules and prices change; always check 12306 or Trip.com for live departures before finalizing plans. Tell us if something here is out of date.