Luoyang Travel Forum

I will be travelling by train to luoyang and shaolin temple from Beijing. Where would be the most convient place to stay? Would i be able to see both places in one day? Can you recremmend a good hostel or budget hotel here? I would like to leave here and train to xian. Thanks in advance.

Yes, you can visit two places in one day.
Take a tour coach or taxi to Shaolin Temple. If you go to Shaolin Temple by coach, it will take you within one hour to arrive at the destination. The coach can be found beside the railway station, every 30 minutes, from 5;30 to 18;00.
I recommend that you go to Shaolin Temple in the morning, 3 hours in Shaolin Temple. Then, go back to Luoyang, go to Longmen by bus in the afternoon. It's near Luoyang, other 3 hours is enough.
So, if you get on the coach to Shaolin Temple at 8;00, the whole trip will be finished before 6;00. Then take bus or train to Xi'an.

Bus to Shaolin Temple from where? Luoyang or Zhengzhou? I remember both directions took about 2 hours from Shaolin Temple, not 1 hour. Pretty rushed to see both places in 1 day, if you're anyone like me.
I would suggest perhaps staying overnight in Luoyang, if you don't want to rush on by overnight train (they're very strange timings) to Xi'an.
Beijing -- overnight train -- Zhengzhou -- bus -- Shaolin Temple -- bus -- Luoyang -- bus/overnight train -- Xi'an.

Thanks for the quick reply. I do have enough time to stay overnight. Then it could be train from beijing to zhengzhou in the morning, I did not see a over night train from beijing. The train ride looks to be 6 hours. My question is after i visit shaolin, do i stay overnight there or bus to luoyang and stay there the night? Which place would be better? After i visit luoyang, can i train from there to xian or go back to zhengzhou and then train?

Try http://www.travelchinaguide.com/for recommended hotels. I live and work in Luoyang since June 2007 - my opinion is that Companionship Hotel or Jing An hotel on Peony Plaza are affordable (250-350 RMB) and offer good accomodation and food. From Luoyang you can visit Longmen caves (1/2-day trip by local bus or taxi); Shaolin temple is 2-3 hrs by tourist bus leaving from near the train station(probably bus tours may be arranged from a hotel). Almost nobody speaks English in Luoyang except few expats and some staff in the two hotels mentioned above. There are other hotels which I did not visit/stayed in. I recommend Image Pub on Lian Meng Road near Peony plaza (Mudan Guang)for a drink/western food (Swiss owner/local staff) - tel. (0)379-6588-8659.
Enjoy the trip - ask more questions if you need help.
Tom

There ARE overnight trains for Beijing -- Zhengzhou, they depart from Beijing West train station.
1303 (2150--0834) 10h44min
1217/1220 (2216--0622) 8h06min
K179 (2238--0706) 8h28min
I would suggest staying overnight in Luoyang rather than Shaolin.
There're direct buses and trains from Luoyang to Xi'an, no need to backtrack to Zhengzhou. Erm didn't I put that down already in my previous reply?