Luoyang

Luoyang served as China's capital for thirteen dynasties across 1,500 years—more than any other city in Chinese history. Yet today it is a mid-tier industrial city overshadowed by nearby Zhengzhou, the provincial capital that took Luoyang's political relevance and never gave it back.

The White Horse Temple (Báimǎ Sì), founded in 68 CE, was the first Buddhist temple in China. Buddhism entered the Chinese world through Luoyang, making it the historical transmission point for one of humanity's largest cultural transfers. The Longmen Grottoes—over 100,000 Buddhist statues carved into limestone cliffs along the Yi River—represent four centuries of devotional art (493-1127 CE) and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Luoyang's decline from capital to provincial city is one of history's longest slides. The Tang Dynasty's An Lushan Rebellion (755-763 CE) devastated the city, and subsequent dynasties chose other capitals. When the Mongols, Ming, and Qing ruled from Beijing, Luoyang became a backwater.

Mao's government selected Luoyang for heavy industrialization in the 1950s. First Tractor Manufacturing Company (now YTO Group) was China's first tractor factory, and Luoyang became a center for mining equipment, bearings, and agricultural machinery. The state-owned enterprises that defined the Maoist economy still operate, though many have been partially privatized.

The Luoyang peony—cultivated for over 1,500 years—is China's unofficial national flower and drives a festival economy each April that draws millions of visitors. The city's peony industry (cultivation, cosmetics, tea, tourism) generates significant seasonal revenue.

Luoyang's modern economy depends on manufacturing, the peony festival, Longmen Grottoes tourism, and its role as a logistics node on China's east-west rail corridor.

Luoyang's lesson: a city can be the most important place in a civilization for a millennium and still become ordinary. Relevance is rented, not owned.