Thousand of Buddhas in Longmen Grottoes, China (15 photos)

In the city of Luoyang, located in the province of Henan, you will find the grottoes housing more than 100.000 Buddhas. They all vary in size. So does the caves and niches. Luoyang has been the cpaital of several dynasties up until the 10th century A.D. Once it was the centre of China and at that time the city had hundreds of Buddhist temples. In my opinion, most places of interessert are found in the outskirts. I spend three days in Luoyang and most of my time was spend visiting temples. Two of my absolute favourites are The White Horse Temple and the Gualin Temple. Also the Shaolin is worth av visit. But the Longmen Grottoes are the most impressive place we went to.

The map at the entrance gives a good overview. We walked along the river all the way to the last bridge, then crossed and walked back on the opposite side. That gave us the most impressive view of all the caves.

During a period of 200 years more than 100.000 Buddhas were carved in the rocks. The first carvings were done in AD 493.The size vary from very small images to statues 55 feet tall. Unfortunatly many of the images have lost their heads and if you want to see these heads, you have to visit museums around the world. Many of the statues were damaged during the Cultural Revolution as well.

The most impressive part of the whole area, is without any doubt the Feng Xian Si Temple. A steep staircase is leading up to the platform with the statues. The largest figure is a 56 feet tall Buddha. He has two of his disciples and two bodhisattvas by his side. The statues does look as if in a good state.

It was first when we walked on the opposite side of the river that we actually realised how big this grotto and the statues are. A truly spectacular place.

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