China | Luoyang

Longmen Grottoes Luoyang

China Discovery Tour

Luoyang | China

04 Jan 2020 | Sat

Day 08 of 18

  • Longmen Grottoes Luoyang
  • Lunch | Traditional Chinese Restaurant Luoyang
  • Luoyang Old Town District
  • Tianzi Jialiu Museum
  • High Speed Train | Luoyang to Xian
  • Meet Xian Tour Guide (Rainbow) & Driver
  • Sofitel Xian On Renmin Square Hotel

Longmen Grottoes Luoyang

The Longmen Grottoes are one of the finest examples of Chinese Buddhist art. Situated in the valleys of the Yi River near Luoyang in Henan Province, the grottoes were carved over a period of 400 years, from 493 to 1127. The work was begun during the Northern Wei Dynasty and continued through the Tang Dynasty. There are more than 2,300 caves and 100,000 statues of Buddhas, bodhisattvas and saints within the grottoes.

Longmen Grottoes Luoyang

Today, the Longmen Grottoes are a popular tourist destination. Visitors can explore the caves and see the statues up close. There are also a number of museums and exhibitions in the area that provide more information about the history and culture of the grottoes.

The Longmen Grottoes or Longmen Caves are some of the finest examples of Chinese Buddhist art. Housing tens of thousands of statues of Shakyamuni Buddha and his disciples, they are located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south of present-day Luoyang in Henan province, China. The images, many once painted, were carved as outside rock reliefs and inside artificial caves excavated from the limestone cliffs of the Xiangshan (香山) and Longmenshan, running east and west. The Yi River flows northward between them and the area used to be called Yique. The alternative name of “Dragon’s Gate Grottoes” derives from the resemblance of the two hills that check the flow of the Yi River to the typical “Chinese gate towers” that once marked the entrance to Luoyang from the south. There are as many as 100,000 statues within the 2,345 caves, ranging from 1 inch (25 mm) to 57 feet (17 m) in height. The area also contains nearly 2,500 stelae and inscriptions, hence the name “Forest of Ancient Stelae”, as well as over sixty Buddhist pagodas. Situated in a scenic natural environment, the caves were dug from a 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) stretch of cliff running along both banks of the river. 30% date from the Northern Wei and 60% from the Tang dynasty, caves from other periods accounting for less than 10% of the total.[3] Starting with the Northern Wei Dynasty in 493 AD, patrons and donors included emperors, Wu Zetian, members of the royal family, other rich families, generals, and religious groups.

In 2000 the site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List as “an outstanding manifestation of human artistic creativity,” for its perfection of an art form, and for its encapsulation of the cultural sophistication of Tang China.

– Wikipedia Longmen Grottoes

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