For younger students, experience and creation are emphasized. Thirteen original courses cover areas including technology and intangible cultural heritage. One particularly inventive program uses 3D-printing technology to create 1:1 replicas of relief carvings and inscribed stelae, allowing students to experience traditional rubbing techniques firsthand.

"As students brush and press, they capture the details of the Longmen Grottoes' content," he explains.

If the Longmen Grottoes are a brilliant jewel in Luoyang's historical crown, the city's museums form a three-dimensional narrative of "what makes China".

At the Erlitou Site Museum of the Xia Capital, visitors can explore the origins of Chinese civilization through more than 30 courses.

A course on the path of technological innovation in Xia Dynasty (c.21st century-16th century BC) handicrafts is offered for visitors to vicariously feel what it's like to be Xia artisans, as they try their hand at pottery, bronze casting, and turquoise inlay, recommends Yang Kexin, a representative from Luoyang's cultural and museum system.

"Visitors can gain an intuitive understanding of the innovative spirit that has been part of the Chinese nation since ancient times," Yang says.