Route guide · Verified 2026-08-15
Datong to Luoyang
~760km by high-speed rail — Datong South ↔ Luoyang Longmen. Here's what it actually costs, how long to budget, and what's worth doing at both ends.
How long does Datong to Luoyang take?
On the timetable
High-speed rail ~4h (change in Taiyuan)
Door to door, realistically
4.5h
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 (change in Taiyuan). 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
Datong
Yungang Grottoes · Hanging Temple · knife-cut noodles
Yungang Grottoes
252 caves and 51,000 carved Buddhist statues cut into a sandstone cliff over the 5th and 6th centuries — one of China's three great grotto sites alongside Dunhuang and Longmen. Cave 20's 16.5-meter seated Buddha, exposed since its wall collapsed centuries ago, is the single most photographed shot in Datong.
Tip: The site is about 16km west of the city — budget 30-40 minutes each way by taxi or the tourist bus from the train station.
Also worth the time: Hanging Temple.
Eat: Knife-Cut Noodles
Shanxi's signature noodle: a chef shaves ribbons straight off a block of dough held on the shoulder, flicking them directly into boiling water, producing thick, chewy, irregular strands unlike any machine-cut noodle. Served with tomato-egg, braised pork, or a simple vinegar-chili sauce. Noodle shops across the old town — watching the shaving technique in the window is half the reason to go.
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.
Frequently asked questions
- How long does the train from Datong to Luoyang take?
- High-speed rail ~4h (change in Taiyuan). Budget roughly 4.5h 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 (change in Taiyuan). Luoyang Longmen station is conveniently close to the Longmen Grottoes themselves.
- How far is Datong from Luoyang?
- Roughly 760km, estimated from straight-line geography and typical route factors. Datong South ↔ Luoyang Longmen.
- How much does the train from Datong to Luoyang cost?
- Roughly ¥300–420 second class (per-km estimate).
- Which stations do I use?
- Datong South ↔ 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.