LUOYANG , in the middle reaches of China's Yellow River valley, has two sides. There is industrial Luoyang - established in the 1950s, drab and of little interest except in April when visitors flock to see the peony blossom - and there is the ancient "City of Nine Capitals", occupied from Neolithic times through to 937 AD and now relegated to a few sites on the fringe of the modern city. Though ancient Luoyang holds an important place in Chinese history, with many finds in the museum to prove it, there is little to be seen on the grounds of the once glorious palaces and temples, and the city bears a resemblance to other formerly significant provincial cities such as Zhengzhou and Shijiazhuang, in hot pursuit of modernization. Beyond the city limits, though, you can still see the Longmen Caves , whose Buddhist carvings provide one of the most important artistic sites in China, and the venerable Baima and Guanlin temples . The city also makes a good base for an exploration of Song Shan , the holy mountain, and the Shaolin Si , home of martial arts.