Longmen Grottoes rival on UNESCO World Heritage List

Updated: 2012-11-26

Longmen Grottoes was included on UNESCO World Heritage List recently. Longmen Grottoes, Yungang Grottoes, Dunhuang Grottoes and Maijishan Grottoes are treasures of China's grotto art and have great religious, artistic and social value.

Longmen is a beautiful place, surrounded on two sides by east and west mountains. The west mountain is also called Longmen Mountain. The east mountain, also known as Xiangshan, is the place where Bai Juyi, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), was buried.

Fengxian Temple is the largest among all Tang Dynasty grottoes, spanning more than 30 meters in length and breadth. According to the inscription, the grotto was excavated when Wu Zetian was emperor of the Tang Dynasty. The Buddha statues in the grotto are vivid expressions of the Tang Dynasty.

Longmen Grottoes can be traced back more than 1,500 years. The largest statue is 17.14 in height. The area is home to more than 1,300 well-preserved grottoes, more than 50 temples and 100,000 Buddha statues. The smallest one is 2 centimeters tall. They all embody the art and wisdom of ancient Chinese people.

Back to the Tang Dynasty, a program which tours Longmen Grottoes at night, is providing a new perspective to tourists. The night view allows them to enjoy a totally different scene in Fengxian Temple.