Luoyang food isn't famous the way Beijing's or Sichuan's is, but it carries a cultural depth almost nothing else in China can match. The Luoyang Water Banquet (shuixi) is a ceremonial meal handed down from the time of Empress Wu Zetian over 1,300 years ago, in which every dish is a soup or built around broth. There are 24 courses in all, served in an ancient sequence that has held its original form to a remarkable degree. Come to Luoyang and don't miss this meal, no matter what.
#1 Luoyang Water Banquet (shuixi) · Luoyang Water Banquet
The oldest traditional meal in Luoyang, dating back to Empress Wu Zetian in the Tang dynasty. It runs to 24 courses in the old style, and every dish has to be a soup or come with broth, served in sequence by palace custom. It opens with a mild radish soup, moves through beef and pork in various broths, and closes with sweets. The name 「shuixi」 means 「water banquet」, because the broth and sauce are the soul of every dish. It is registered as a national cultural heritage of China.
- Set menus run from 100–300 yuan per person and up, depending on the restaurant and the tier of the banquet. Famous spots like 真不同 (Zhen Bu Tong) are worth booking at least a day ahead.
- Order a small set for 2–3 people first if you've never tried it. Some dishes may taste different from what you'd expect if you're used to Thai flavours.
- The radish soup (第一道, the first course) is the heart of the meal. Sip the broth slowly and notice how finely tuned the flavour is.
#2 Yanggong Soup Noodles (Luoyang tang) · Luoyang Yanggong Soup Noodles
The city's signature breakfast, which people in Luoyang have eaten since the Tang dynasty. Flat, thin hand-made wheat noodles are boiled fresh in a pork-bone broth simmered overnight, gentle but well-rounded in flavour, and one sip of the broth warms you from early morning. Some old shops use a broth recipe passed down over several generations. Unlike the stronger-tasting noodles common in the rest of Henan, Luoyang's lean toward soft delicacy and the fragrance of old spices.
- Order 大碗 (a large bowl) if you're really hungry. The price difference is small, around 10–18 yuan.
- Add dried chilli and vinegar yourself at the table the way locals do, for a more balanced flavour.
- A shop with a long queue from 6 a.m. is the clearest sign it's good. No need to check a review app.
#3 Donkey Meat Flatbread (lurou huoshao) · Donkey Meat Flatbread
Street food whose name might give you pause, but people in Luoyang have eaten it for hundreds of years, and there's a Chinese saying: 「dragon meat in the sky, donkey meat on the ground」. People in Henan prize donkey meat above beef. It's braised with five spices until tender and fragrant, sliced thin, and stuffed into a crisp flatbread fresh from the oven. The flavour is rich and aromatic with spice, with no gamey smell at all, and the meat is far smoother than pork. It makes a great breakfast or a snack while you're out walking.
- It costs 8–15 yuan a piece. Ask for fresh green chilli if you like it spicy, or ask for none if you don't eat spicy food.
- A shop that bakes its bread in a charcoal oven out front is a sign the bread is fresh. Don't buy ones that have been sitting out a while.
- Eat it hot the moment you get it. Once it cools the bread turns chewy and the flavour drops off a lot.
#4 Doufu Tang (soy milk tofu soup) · Luoyang Doufu Tang
The warming breakfast bowl people in Luoyang love most. Soft tofu is ground fine into a thick creamy texture, spooned into a bowl, topped with warm golden ginger broth, and finished with fried shallots, chilli oil and pickles. The flavour is mild and silky, a bit like Thai douhua or soy-milk tofu pudding but lightly salty instead of sweet. It's very cheap, eaten by all ages, and perfect before a full day walking the Longmen Grottoes.
- It's 3–6 yuan a bowl, cheap enough that you should try one even if you're not sure you'll like it.
- Order it with crisp fried dough sticks (油条), which you dip and eat together the way Thais pair pa-thong-ko with soy milk.
- When you sip the tofu soup, don't stir it or the tofu will break apart — sip it straight from the bowl the way locals do.
#5 Henan Braised Pork with Pickled Vegetables (Luoyang-style huiguorou) · Luoyang Braised Pork with Pickled Vegetables
A mainstay of Henan food that people in Luoyang have eaten at family banquets for hundreds of years. Pork belly is braised with fermented soybean sauce, palm sugar and eight Chinese spices until the meat falls off the bone. The Henan pickles served alongside are salt-cured napa cabbage with a mild sourness that cuts the richness of the pork. Each restaurant's recipe differs a little, but the common thread is a rich braising liquid you have to spoon over hot white rice.
- Order extra white rice with it, because the thick braising liquid is delicious over rice.
- Traditional places usually steam or braise it ahead from early morning, so you can order it from lunch on without a long wait.
- If you don't finish it, most places will pack it up. Braised pork tastes even better reheated the next day.
#6 Peony Cake (mudan gao) · Peony Cake
A specialty unique to Luoyang, made from dried peony flowers blended with wheat flour and sugar. It carries a faint peony fragrance that makes you think of the city at once. The flavour is lightly sweet and gentle, good with hot tea, and each piece is carved delicately into the shape of a peony, packed in a pretty gift box that travels well as a souvenir. The real thing can only be bought in Luoyang, so watch out for imitations sold in other cities.
- Buy from a shop with genuine peony-producer certification. Prices start at 30–80 yuan a box depending on size and quality.
- The cakes have a short shelf life, about 3–5 days at room temperature. Buy them on your last day of travel for freshness.
- During the peony festival in April, some recipes are made from fresh peony petals picked that same day, and taste much better than usual.
Where to stay in Luoyang for this trip
A well-located hotel means less commuting and more sightseeing. Here are real, top-rated stays in Luoyang — compare Agoda · Booking · Trip.com in one click.
Crowne Plaza Luoyang
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Christian's Hotel Luoyang
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Atour Hotel Luoyang
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Holiday Inn Express Luoyang City Center
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Tours, tickets & activities in Luoyang
Day tours, attraction tickets and travel essentials for Luoyang — book ahead on Klook with mobile e-tickets.
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Before You Pack
Luoyang food tastes best at the old restaurants of the Old Town and around Zhongzhou Road. If you want to try a full Water Banquet, book ahead, because the good places fill up fast, especially during the peony festival. Affordable street food along the roadside is available 24 hours in the Old Town.