Why is Longmen Grottoes special?
Located 12km south of present day Luoyang City of Henan Province, the Longmen Grottoes, also known as Longmen Cave, overwhelming depict Buddhist subjects. Along with the Mogao Caves (in Gansu Province) and Yungang Grottoes (in Shanxi Province), the Longmen Grottoes are one of the three most famous ancient sculptural sites in China and were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in November 2000. Longmen Grottoes’ Highlights According to the Longmen Caves Research Institute, there are 2345 caves and niches, 2800 inscriptions, 43 pagodas and over 100,000 Buddhist images at the site. 30% of the caves date from the Northern Wei Dynasty, 60% from the Tang Dynasty, and caves from other periods less than 10%. It is the most impressive collection of Chinese art from these dynasties, and, dating from 316 to 907 CE, represents the zenith of stone carving in China. Fengxian Temple Built in the Tang Dynasty, Fengxian Temple is the largest grotto in Longmen Temple with a width of 36 meters (ab
