Longmen Grottoes

The 7th C Temple of Qianxi Si contains a sculpture of the Buddha Amitabha with two pupils. In addition two Bodhisattvas and two guardians of heaven can be seen.

The 36m/118ft wide and 41m/135ft deep grotto known as Fengxian Si Temple, with an open roof, was created between 672 and 675 and is by far the biggest in the whole complex. It was once protected by a wooden porch. Monumental statues of scholars, heavenly kings and grim guardians are grouped around the largest, a Buddha Losana, which is 17m/56ft high. With its round-cheeked face this sculpture is typical of its time, the heyday of Buddhist art in China.

On Xiangshan the Grotto of Kanjing Si is of special interest. The walls of the 7th C grotto are decorated with 29 Luohan figures.

Guyang Dong Grotto south of the mountain slope was created in 493 before any of the others. On the niches in the cave walls numerous sculptures with white contours protrude. This grotto also contains a large number of stone inscriptions which are masterpieces of calligraphy. Both the statues and the inscriptions date from the time of the cave's inception.

Lotus Blossom Cave (Lianhua Dong), which was created in the late Wei period, is named after the lotus blossom on its roof. In the middle of the cave there is a large sculpture of Shakyamuni.

In the Remedy Cave (Yaofang Dong) established by the Empress Wu Zetian (624-705) the visitor will come across over 140 inscriptions from the early 7th C which give medical advice for the treatment of digestive complaints, angina, malaria and other illnesses. It is therefore of particular interest to those carrying out investigations into traditional Chinese medicine.

The Ten Thousand Buddha Grotto (Wanfo Dong) was constructed in 680. It contains not 10,000 but 15,000 Buddhistic figures in relief which can be found along the side walls. On the ceiling an enormous lotus blossom can be seen.