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Top 10 Unbelievable Facts about Longmen Grottos

The Longmen Grottoes also known as Longmen Caves, are some of the finest examples of .

1. Houses thousands of Shakyamuni Buddha statues

Shakyamuni Bussha Statue- Photo by Xion Design Studio on Unsplash

The Longmen Grottos houses tens of thousands of statues of and his disciples.

They are located 12 kilometres south of the present-day in province, China.

There are as many as 100,000 statues within the 2,345 caves, ranging from 1 inch to 57 feet in height.

2. Its alternative name is Dragon’s Gate Grottoes

Image by 娌� 涓� from Pixabay

The alternative name of Longmen Grottoes is “Dragon’s Gate Grottoes”. This name 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.

3. Longmen Grottoes contains over a thousand stelae and inscriptions

Stelae example= Image by DEZALB from Pixabay

The area of Longmen Grottoes also contains nearly 2,500 and , hence the name 鈥淔orest of Ancient Stelae”.

Situated in a scenic natural environment, the caves were dug from a 1 kilometre stretch of cliff running along both banks of the river.

30% of the stelae and inscriptions date from the and 60% from the , while caves from other periods account for less than 10% of the total.

Starting with the Northern Wei Dynasty in 493 AD, patrons and donors included emperors, , members of the royal family, other rich families, generals, and religious groups.

4. Was added to UNESCO World Heritage List

UNESCO Logo- Author; International Bureau of Education- Wikimedia

In 2000, the site of Longmen Grottoes was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List and described as 鈥渁n outstanding manifestation of human artistic creativity,鈥� for its perfection of an art form, and for its encapsulation of the cultural sophistication of Tang China.

5. Longmen Grottoes was recognized as one of the most notable grottoes in China

Photo by Snowscat on Unsplash

Long men Grottoes is one of the three notable in China. The other two grottoes are the near Datong in Shanxi Province, and the near Dunhuang in Gansu Province.

The valley formed by the Yi River is enclosed by two hills ranges of Xiangshan (to the east) and Longmenshan (to the west) hills which have steep slopes on the western and eastern slopes along the river. Yi is a north-flowing tributary of the .

The grottoes are formed in 1 km of the stretch of this river and were carved on both banks, in limestone formations creating the Longmen Caves.

Most of the work was done on the western bank, while the eastern bank caves, of smaller numbers, served as residences for the large groups of monks.

6. Creation of Longmen Grottoes is traced back to the dynasty of Emperor Xiaowen

Stele of emperor xiaowen with his entourage, worshipping buddha- Author; Metropolitan Museum of Art- Wikimedia

The earliest history of the creation of Longmen Grottoes is traced to the reign of dynasty. This is when he shifted his capital to Luoyang from D脿t贸ng.

The grottoes were excavated and carved with Buddhist subjects over the period from 493 AD to 1127 AD, in four distinct phases.

The first phase started with the Northern Wei dynasty (493鈥�534). The second phase saw slow development of caves as there was interruption due to strife in the region, between 524 and 626, during the reign of the (581鈥�618) and the early part of the Tang dynasty (618鈥�907).

The third phase was during the reign of the Tang dynasty when flourished and there was a proliferation of caves and carvings from 626 to the mid 8th century.

The fourth phase, which was the last one was from the later part of the Tang dynastic rule extending to the rule, which saw a decline in the creation of grottoes.

It came to an end due to the internecine war between the and .

7. There was a cultural revival that made Longmen Grottoes gain national and international recognition

Photo by Snowscat on Unsplash

During the period of 1368 to 1912, when two dynasties ruled in China, namely the from 1368 to 1644, and the from 1644 to 1912, there was cultural revival and the Longmen Grottoes received recognition both at the national and international level.

During the , the Japanese looted the site and took many of the statues back to Japan. Many of these relics are now in Japanese museums.

8. Declared a protected area ever since the vandalism in the 1940s

Vandalism occurred in the 1940s, as a result of political unrest. With the establishment of the People鈥檚 Republic of China in 1949, the grottoes have been declared a protected area and are now being conserved.

The Constitution of China, under Article 22, which among other issues also provides for the protection of the natural heritage sites, has been further defined under various legal instruments enacted to protect and conserve this cultural heritage of China.

Additionally, major artifacts were removed by Western collectors and souvenir hunters during the early 20th century.

The heads of many statues were also destroyed during the . Two murals taken from the grottoes are reported to be displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri.

9. Was established under the Ministry of culture

Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China- Author; N509FZ- Wikimedia

The Longmen Relics Care Agency was established in 1953 under the Ministry of Culture.

A 1954 site inventory was undertaken by the newly established Longmen Caves Cultural Relics Management and Conservation Office.

The State Council declared the Longmen Grottoes as a national cultural monument needing special protection in 1961. In 1982, it was declared one of the first group of scenic zones to be protected at the state level.

The Management and Conservation Office was renamed the Longmen Grottoes Research Institute in 1990, and the People鈥檚 Government of Luoyang City became responsible for the management of the heritage monuments.

The governing organization was renamed the Longmen Grottoes Research Academy in 2002.

10. Continues to serve as a very impressive landmark to date

Photo by nu an on Unsplash

Open between 7.30 am and 10.30 pm, today the massive Buddhas continue to cut an impressive landmark into the surrounding rockface, surrounded by cave dwellings.

It is however advisable to leave several hours so as to be able to wander the site, which is well-signposted and furthermore it allows you to get really close to the caves and carvings.

The caves are only a 15-minute car journey from Luoyang station or you can hop on the 53 bus (which costs 1 RMB), and you are advised to take a small golf buggy from the ticket office if you do not want to trek up to the statues.