Longmen Grottoes,

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Longmen Grottoes
Must Sees Longmen Grottoes White Horse Temple Guanlin Temple Luoyang Peony & Wangcheng Park Yellow River Xiaolangdi Scenic Area Luoyang Ancient Tombs Museum Luoyang Museum Baiyunshan National Forest Park Optional Attractions Luoyang Folklore Museum The Shang Imperial City Museum The Han-Wei Imperial City The Hangu Pass of the Han Dynasty The Mausoleum of Emperor Guangwudi of the Han Dynasty Counted among the most precious of the grotto complexes in China, the Longmen Caves lie about 14 km (9 miles) south of Luoyang city in Henan Province. Carved in ancient China and stretching some 1 kilometer, it is one of the three most famous grottoes in China, together with the Dunhuang Grottoes in Gansu Province and the Yungang Grottoes in Shanxi Province. Longmen Caves provides important materials for study of history and arts in ancient China and has been the key tourist and scenic spot in Luoyang. It's an art-treasure house in the world as well. Spanning over 1,000 meters in length, the caves were chiseled on the cliffs of both banks of the Yi River. The scene of Longmen and its surroundings is very beautiful, and the "Longmen Mountain scene" is reputed to be the first among the "Eight Scenic Spots of Luoyang". The caves were first sculptured and chiseled around the year when Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital to Luoyang in Northern Wei Dynasty. The entire construction of Longmen Grottoes lasted over 400 years. Today, there are still 2,100 caves and niches, 100,000 Buddhist images, more than 3,600 inscribed tablets and 43 Buddhist pagodas and steles in the caves of Guyang, Binyang and Lianhua constructed in the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Qianxi Monastery, Wanfuo Cave (Cave of Ten Thousand Buddhist Statues), the Fengxian Monastery and Kanjing Monastery etc. built in the Tang Dynasty remaining. As one of the three great Buddhist treasures, the Buddhist statues in Longmen Caves are exquisitely caved and beautifully shaped, all presenting a vivid appearance of a dignified manner and delicate look. The Buddhist statues in Longmen Caves are an embodiment of a peculiar and extraordinary style of sculpture of Buddhist. Statues of the Chinese people also occupied a very important place in the Chinese art of sculpture. What's more, with broad breadth of spirit, profound implication and beautiful workmanship, the Longmen Caves is a bright pearl in the artistic treasure house of sculpture of the world. Scattered about the various caves are carved figures of Flying Apsaras, with some of them, light and graceful, riding clouds and mist dexterously, some dancing in the air, holding a plateful of fruits in the hand, some playing music and singing, and others casting flowers and fish about. Longmen is not only renowned for the caves, but also endowed with lush mountains and ridges, springs and waterfalls. The two mountains are covered with green pines and cypresses. Towers and pavilions set each other off. It's a unique scenery area. Fengxian Temple (Ancestor Worshipping Temple): Stretching along the precipitous cliff of the southern side of West Hill, Fengxian Temple is the largest cave in Longmen. Measuring 35 meters in width and 39 meters in length, this cave was carved over 1300 years ago (from 672 to 675 AD) during the Tang Dynasty. When it was first constructed, the entire grotto was covered with a roof and enclosed from the natural elements. Today the roof is missing and the sculptures stand out in the open air. Guyang Cave: Three tiers of niches are carved on each of the two walls. The arched lintel and the back of the niche are painted with decorative designs and patterns, which are exquisite, rich and colorful. The sculptured statues of Donors with a solemn expression are vivid and lifelike. There is a dazzling array of carvings. The annotations on the statues in the cave were inscribed in simple and crude calligraphy. Lianhua (Lotus Flowers) Cave: Constructed in the late period of the Northern-Wei Dynasty, the Cave houses a standing statue of Sakyamuni, 5.1 meters high and with a damaged face and broken hands, which could be the "image of Sakyamuni begging for alms", with a statue of Kasyapa Buddha at his right side holding a Buddhist abbot's staff. In the cave, there are numerous niches of various arches and decorated with fine carvings of peal and jade necklace, curtain, colorful strings, clouds, lotus flower, geometrical patterns etc. Sculptured upon the cave ceiling is a large lotus flower surrounded by figures of Apsaras in relief, which are slim, graceful and vivid. Admission Fee: CNY 86 (including CNY 6 for electric bus) Opening Hours: 07:00 to 19:50 (Mar. 1 to Oct. 31) 07:30 to 18:50 (Nov.1 to Apr. 30) Recommended Time for a Visit: Two hours Bus Route: 53, 60

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