Featuring traditional Chinese clothes and makeups, immersive tours of the historical sites of north China's Luoyang City, Henan Province, are injecting vibrancy into local tourism as replica of ancient towns and traditional costumes are taking visitors back to a time thousands of years ago.

Luoyang, an ancient capital city in central China's Henan Province, has been a dazzling name amid the splendid Chinese civilization, with over 4,000 years of history, the city served as the capital for 13 Chinese dynasties.
Present-day Luoyang is home to five capital city ruins, six UNESCO World Heritage sites, 197 cultural relic units under national and provincial protection, 9,000 pieces of immovable cultural relics, and 102 museums.
Replicating the styles of existing ancient buildings, local authorities rebuilt the Luoyi ancient town right on the site of the old town in 2017.
"Every time when there is a film or TV series of which the stories are set to happen in Luoyang, we do as best as we can to create immersive scenes according to the stories' themes," said Li Weihan, a staff member of a local scenic spot.
Within one square kilometer around the Luoyi Ancient City, up to 1,000 traditional Chinese clothes stores are promoting their ancient fashion outfits and makeups among tourists.
"The scenic spot is packed with young girls and boys dressed just like us. I think, because Luoyang used to be the Chinese capital for thousands of years, we feel very comfortable in the local atmosphere and environment with the outfits on," said Li Ruofan, a tourist.
In July 2023, the Luoyang government officially opened its research institute of traditional Chinese clothes, gathering over 70 experts and scholars from major Chinese universities, who have rolled out more than 800 designs of traditional Chinese outfits.
"This outfit was designed according to the styles of the dresses popular in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It is a copy of the outfit in the 'Portrait of a Woman in a Cloak'. All our clothes are designed based on the existing materials on ancient dresses. Over 70 experts, after referring to 200 books, made the outfit. The spread of traditional costumes should not stop at the level of appreciation and photography. Instead, it is about enriching the overall cultural heritage," said Li Haiyan, deputy director of the Henan Luoyang Research Institute of Traditional Chinese Clothes.
"Luoyang has a rich cultural heritage, but the heritage should not stay in the ancient books for worship only. By rereading it, we should explore the cultural heritage from a new perspective," said Lan Hongtao, deputy director of the Luoyang Municipal Bureau of Culture, Braodcast-TV, and Tourism.