Luoyang

Luoyang 洛阳市
Prefecture-level city
Top: Longmen Grottoes, Bottom left: White Horse Temple, Bottom right: Paeonia suffruticosa in Luoyang and Longmen Bridge
Luoyang in Henan
Luoyang Location in China
Coordinates: 34°40′11″N 112°26′32″E / 34.66972°N 112.44222°E / 34.66972; 112.44222Coordinates: 34°40′11″N 112°26′32″E / 34.66972°N 112.44222°E / 34.66972; 112.44222
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Henan
Government
• Party Secretary	Li Ya
• Mayor	Bao Changyong
Area
• Prefecture-level city	15,229.15 km2 (5,880.01 sq mi)
• Urban	810.4 km2 (312.9 sq mi)
• Metro	733.7 km2 (283.3 sq mi)
Elevation	144 m (472 ft)
Population (2010 census)
• Prefecture-level city	6,549,941
• Density	430/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
• Urban	1,926,079
• Urban density	2,400/km2 (6,200/sq mi)
• Metro	1,857,003
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Area code(s)	379
GDP	¥52541 per capita (2015)
Ethnicities	Han, Hui, Manchu, Mongolian
County-level divisions	15
Township-level divisions	—
License plate prefixes	C
Website	www.ly.gov.cn

Luoyang
"Luoyang" in Simplified (top) and Traditional (bottom) Chinese characters
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Postal	Loyang
Literal meaning	"Northern bank of the Luo [River]"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Luòyáng Gwoyeu Romatzyh Luohyang Wade–Giles Lo4-yang2 IPA [lu̯ôi̯ǎŋ] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Lohk-yèuhng Jyutping Lok6-joeng4 Southern Min Tâi-lô Lo̍k-iông

Luoyang, formerly romanized as Loyang, is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in Central China. It is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast. As of the final 2010 census, Luoyang had a population of 6,549,941 inhabitants with 1,857,003 people living in the built-up (or metro) area made of the city's five urban districts, all of which except the Jili District are not urbanized yet.

Situated on the central plain of China, Luoyang is one of the cradles of Chinese civilization, and is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China.

The name "Luoyang" originates from the city's location on the north or sunny ("yang") side of the Luo River. Since the river flows from west to east and the sun is to the south of the river, the sun always shines on the north side of the river. Luoyang has had several names over the centuries, including "Luoyi" (洛邑) and "Luozhou (洛州)", though Luoyang has been its primary name. It has been called, during various periods, "Dongdu" (东都, meaning the Eastern Capital, during the Tang Dynasty), "Xijing" (西京, meaning the Western Capital, during the Song Dynasty), or "Jingluo" (京洛, meaning the general capital for China).