The old town district surrounding Lijing Gate is the most characterful part of modern Luoyang, a web of narrow lanes lined with traditional courtyard houses, small workshops, and street food vendors. The neighbourhood has been partially restored but retains a lived-in quality missing from more aggressively developed historic districts elsewhere in China.
The main food street runs south from the gate tower and is best visited in the early evening when stalls fire up and locals arrive for dinner. Look for bowls of Luoyang water banquet soup, tang mian noodles, and the local specialty of donkey meat sandwiches. The lanes away from the main tourist drag hold small teahouses and crafts shops selling reproductions of the Tang sancai ceramics that made Luoyang famous.