The Longmen Grottoes (simplified Chinese: 龙门石窟; traditional Chinese: 龍門石窟; pinyin: Lóngmén Shíkū; lit. 'Dragon's Gate 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 (Chinese: 伊河) flows northward between them and the area used to be called Yique (伊阙; 'The Gate of the Yi River'). 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. 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.
| Monday | 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM |
| Tuesday | 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM |
| Wednesday | 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM |
| Thursday | 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM |
| Friday | 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM |
| Saturday | 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM |
| Sunday | 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM |
Narumon Jiaranuraj | May 13, 201810
Great place!!! Highly recommended for all the architecture lover out there. You can easily spend a full day here. To get here is very easy but a taxi ride (12 yuan) to the place. Once you get there, you can get worked up with the walk up and down on these cave but all of them were well worthwhile. It would help if you read some detail info before visit since all the sign info was in Chinese.
Sow Cheng K | May 9, 20188.0
Longmen Grottoes (or Longmen Caves) near Luoyang, Henan Province/ China is a site under the UNESCO World Heritage List. The caves housed tens of thousands of statues of Buddha and his disciples. Among the statutes, one of them was carved based on Empress Wu Zetian’s self-portrait. The Empress had donated a huge sum of money to the sculptors to do that. It is fantastic how the people at that time were able to carve so many intricate images onto the walls, both inside and outside of the caves, without any machines, etc.
Huang Wzhong | May 9, 201810
the beautiful sceneric with long history of faithful holy sacred place. a lot of walking stairs to be achived, hence wear a proper shoes and have enough energy to climb up and down, however it's quite interesting and enjoyable.
Mun Yee Yeow | May 7, 20188.0
When you're in Longmen, must visit here. Awesome view and beautiful cravings. Need some climbing.
natthakrit trongchookiat | Apr 30, 201810
It is very nice and amazing place. Dont miss to visit it.
Simon Liem | Jul 1, 201810
I love this historical place. About 110.000 Buddhist statues are located here. From the tiny one to the huge one. The English descriptions about some statues are also provided through WeChat barcode. So, make sure that WeChat is downloaded before visit China. Very long walk and a lot of stairs. It's okay for me that loves walking and excercising. Plenty of shops that sells bottled water with acceptable price.
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