April is peony month, which means flowers and a full city

Luoyang has grown peonies for fifteen hundred years and every park is full of them for a few weeks in April — along with everyone else in Henan. Rooms double in price and the trains fill.

If you want the flowers, book beds and tickets a month ahead and go on a weekday. If you want the caves and the temples in peace, come in late September or October instead: the same city, half the people, better walking weather.