Luoyang Station vs Luoyang Longmen: Which Station for the Grottoes
One city, two main stations, and a 12 km gap between them
Luoyang is a city of about seven million people with two railway stations that both call themselves the station for Luoyang, and picking the wrong one is the most common planning error on a Henan trip. They are not two entrances to the same place. They are 12 to 13 km apart, in different districts, serving different kinds of train, and the journey between them takes 40 to 60 minutes in traffic.
The distinction that matters for almost every visitor is this. Luoyang Longmen is the high-speed station, south of the city in Luolong district, where the G and D trains stop. Luoyang station is the older conventional station in Xigong district, west of the old town, where the K, T and Z trains stop. If your ticket was booked on a fast train from Zhengzhou, Xi’an or Beijing, you are almost certainly arriving at Longmen.
The grottoes are in the south of the city. That is why the whole question resolves the way it does.
Which trains use which station
The split is cleaner than in most Chinese cities, because the two lines do not mix much.
Luoyang Longmen handles the Xuzhou-Lanzhou high-speed line, which is the corridor that runs east to Zhengzhou East and Kaifeng, and west towards Xi’an. This is where you arrive on any modern service, and it is where the station-to-station run times in our four capitals rail route are measured from.
Luoyang station handles the conventional network on the old east-west line. It is the station for overnight trains and for slower, cheaper services, and it is also the station closest to the historic core. If you are arriving on a sleeper from Shanghai or a slower train from Xi’an, you may well end up here instead.
Both stations are stops on a single metro line, which is worth knowing for transfers. Metro Line 2 runs north to south and calls at Luoyang Railway Station, then Jiefang Road, then Longmen High-Speed Railway Station, then terminates at Balitang in the far south. If you land at one railway station and need the other, you can ride Line 2 the whole way without going into the street.
Three stations with Longmen in the name
This is the trap that catches people who book in a hurry.
There are three stations in and around Luoyang whose names contain Longmen. Only one of them sells passenger tickets, and it is Luoyang Longmen, the high-speed station. Longmen South exists but does not handle passenger services, and the old Longmen station was closed years ago. So when you search, read the four characters on the ticket rather than the first two, because 洛阳龙门 and 龙门南 are not interchangeable and one of them will not take you anywhere.
The same warning applies to Luoyang itself. A ticket to Luoyang and a ticket to Luoyang Longmen are different journeys ending in different districts. If you are booking through an agent or an English-language site that abbreviates, check the Chinese characters before you pay. The booking mechanics, and what the gate staff will ask for, are covered in our high-speed rail guide.
Getting to the grottoes from Luoyang Longmen
This is the easy version, and it is why the high-speed station is the one you want.
The site is 4 to 5 km away. A taxi or ride-hailing car takes 10 to 15 minutes and costs around ¥15, which is cheap enough that most people do not think about it twice. Bus 71 also runs between the station area and the grottoes, and the site’s own visitor guidance quotes a journey of around 40 minutes, which tells you how much of the difference is traffic and stopping versus distance.
If you have a bag, leave it rather than dragging it around the cliff paths. Both Luoyang stations have left-luggage arrangements near the exits, usually a mix of small counters and app-based lockers, and there is storage at the grottoes service area as well. The cliff walk is stairs and slopes for a couple of kilometres, and the west hill section alone is enough to make you regret a wheeled suitcase.
Getting to the grottoes from Luoyang station
This is the version that eats your morning.
From Luoyang station the grottoes are about 16 km away, on the far side of the city. Bus 81 runs direct from the station to the grottoes and the official journey time is around an hour, an hour and five minutes by the site’s own reckoning. A taxi takes about 30 minutes and costs roughly ¥40. Neither option is difficult, but together with the time you spent getting to Luoyang station in the first place, it turns a half-day visit into most of a day.
If you are already committed to arriving at Luoyang station, the sensible order is to check in near the old town and do the grottoes the following morning on the first bus, rather than trying to squeeze them into the afternoon you arrive.
The metro does not reach the grottoes
Every few months a new English guide claims you can take the metro to Longmen Grottoes. You cannot.
Luoyang has two metro lines. Line 1 runs east to west through the middle of the city, calling at Zhouwangcheng Square, Yingtianmen, Lijingmen and Qinggong, which is the stretch that serves the old town and its night market. Line 2 runs north to south from Erqiaolu down to Balitang. They cross at Jiefang Road, where the transfer is inside the station, one level up.
The southern terminus of Line 2, Balitang, sits on Longmen Avenue, which is the road the grottoes are on. It is the nearest metro station to the site and it is still not at the site, and the last few kilometres are a bus or a taxi. If your plan depends on rail-based transport the whole way, it does not exist here. Take the taxi from the high-speed station for ¥15 and save the puzzle.
If your hotel is in the old town
The old town is the other half of a Luoyang trip, and it pulls in the opposite direction from the grottoes.
Luoyang station is 2 to 3 km from the old town, which makes it the natural arrival point if you are staying near Lijingmen, the drum tower or the Yingtianmen night views. You can walk it in half an hour or take a short taxi. This is the one clear case where the conventional station beats the high-speed one, and if your trip is two nights of eating and one morning of grottoes, book accordingly. Our notes on where to stay in Chinese cities cover the trade-off between old-town atmosphere and station convenience, and Luoyang is a textbook example.
From Luoyang Longmen, the old town is reachable on metro Line 2 to Jiefang Road, then Line 1 east to Yingtianmen or Lijingmen. It is not a hard journey, but with luggage it is a schlepp, and the taxi alternative is 12 km of city traffic.
Booking the grottoes is the real constraint
The station question is easy compared with this one, and it is the reason to plan the grottoes before you plan your trains.
Longmen Grottoes cost ¥90 for a full-price ticket, which covers the west hill, the east hill, Xiangshan Temple and Bai Garden. Half price is ¥45 for students, teachers and teenagers with the right documents. Guides that quote a ¥120 peak-season price are working from something that has no price document behind it, and the site’s own material still says 90.
In April 2025 the site moved to full real-name ticketing, online and at the counter. Online booking runs through the official WeChat accounts, and in practice entry is managed in timed slots that are capped, which is why the guides tell you to book days ahead rather than on the day. A passport is listed as a valid document for buying a full-price ticket at the ticket centre window and for entering the site, which is good news for international travellers, though self-service machines will not read one. If you book online on a passport, expect to collect a paper ticket from the visitor centre before you go in, and leave about 20 minutes for it.
Two things to get right. The site records no-shows, and two in a calendar month blocks you from booking for 30 days, so do not book slots you might not use. And the evening session that used to run on selected dates was suspended in late 2025, so do not build a plan around seeing the caves lit up until the official account says it is back.
Luggage, connections and the onward leg
A few practical notes for the day itself.
The order that works: arrive at Luoyang Longmen, drop your bag, taxi to the grottoes, walk the west hill first because that is where the big carved groups are and where the light is best in the morning, cross the river to the east hill, and come back through Xiangshan Temple. Two to three hours at an unhurried pace.
For the onward journey, Luoyang Longmen is the station for the high-speed network in every direction. East to Zhengzhou East and Kaifeng North, west to Xi’an North, and a direct connection to Kaifeng without doubling back through Zhengzhou. If you are heading further west, Xi’an’s historical core is the obvious pairing. If you are choosing between a multi-ride pass and single tickets for this stretch, we worked through the arithmetic in the Henan rail pass guide, and the short answer is that two or three legs rarely justify the bundle.
One last thing about the trip out. Do not book a train for the same hour you plan to leave the grottoes. The taxi queue at the site entrance in the late afternoon in high season is long, the distance back to the station is short but the road is not, and the difference between a comfortable margin and a missed train is about 40 minutes. Take the earlier train, or give yourself two hours.
Frequently asked questions
Which Luoyang station is closest to the Longmen Grottoes?
Luoyang Longmen, the high-speed station, which sits 4 to 5 km from the site and is about 15 yuan in a taxi, roughly 10 to 15 minutes. Luoyang station, the older conventional station, is 16 km away on the other side of the city and takes about an hour by bus.
Can I reach the Longmen Grottoes by metro?
No. Luoyang has two metro lines and the closest stop to the site is the southern end of Line 2 at Balitang, on Longmen Avenue, which still leaves you a bus or taxi ride from the gate. Most travellers take a taxi from Luoyang Longmen station instead, since it is only 4 to 5 km.
Do I need to book Longmen Grottoes tickets in advance?
Yes. The site moved to full real-name ticketing in April 2025, with online booking through the official WeChat account (龙门石窟 or 龙门石窟景区), and the timed slots are capped. There is also a ticket office window for full-price tickets bought in person, but relying on it in peak season is a gamble.
Can I buy Longmen Grottoes tickets with a passport?
Yes. The site’s own ticketing announcement lists a passport as a valid document for buying a full-price ticket at the ticket centre window and for entering the site. If you book online on a passport you should expect to collect a paper ticket at the visitor centre first, so leave about 20 minutes for that.
Which Luoyang station should I use for the old town?
Luoyang station, the conventional one, is 2 to 3 km from the old town and the easiest arrival point if your hotel is near Lijingmen or the Yingtianmen area. From the high-speed station you can also get there on metro Line 2 to Jiefang Road and then Line 1, which takes longer but works.
What happens if I book a ticket to the wrong Luoyang station?
You lose 40 to 60 minutes and a taxi fare. The two stations are 12 to 13 km apart with no direct rail link between them, and Luoyang is unusual in having three stations with Longmen in the name, so read the exact characters on the ticket rather than the first word.
