Longmen Grottoes

The Longmen Grottoes or Longmen Caves are some of the finest examples of Chinese Buddhist art. Housing tens of thousands of statues of Shakyamuni Buddha and his disciples, they are located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south of present-day Luoyang in Henan province, China. The images, many once painted, were carved as outside rock reliefs and inside artificial caves excavated from the limestone cliffs of the Xiangshan (香山) and Longmenshan, running east and west. The Yi River flows northward between them and the area used to be called Yique. The alternative name of "Dragon's Gate Grottoes" 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. There are as many as 100,000 statues within the 2,345 caves, ranging from 1 inch (25 mm) to 57 feet (17 m) in height. The area also contains nearly 2,500 stelae and inscriptions, hence the name "Forest of Ancient Stelae", as well as over sixty Buddhist pagodas. Situated in a scenic natural environment, the caves were dug from a 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) stretch of cliff running along both banks of the river. 30% date from the Northern Wei and 60% from the Tang dynasty, caves from other periods accounting for less than 10% of the total. Starting with the Northern Wei dynasty in 493 AD, patrons and donors included emperors, Wu Zetian, members of the royal family, other rich families, generals, and religious groups.

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Wikimedia, Wikidata
Longmen Caves; Longmen National Park
grotto, People's Republic of China, 

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• part of UNESCO World Heritage Site page^@
• World Heritage Site page^@
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Location: 34.5556, 112.4697, KML, Cluster Map, Maps,
2 places

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  Longmen Grottoes ⓘ
  cave in People's Republic of China

• 

  Shuiquan Grottoes ⓘ
  caves in Henan Province, China

Frameless

Longmen Grottoes - Caves on the West Hill 68

Longmen Grottoes - Caves on the West Hill 128

Longmen Grottoes - Caves on the West Hill 107

Longmen Grottoes - Caves on the West Hill 91

Longmen Grottoes - Caves on the West Hill 40

Longmen West Hill 27386-Luoyang (49067973008)

Longmen Grottoes - Caves on the West Hill 64

Longmen Grottoes - Caves on the West Hill 109

Longmen Grottoes - Caves on the West Hill 90

Emperor Xiaowen and his entourage worshipping the Buddha - relief panel, China (MET, 35.146)

• 龙门所见两《唐书》中人物造像概说 - scientific article published in January 1993, Q7850
• Longmen - encyclopedia article, 2017

Type	Subtype	Date	Description	Notes	Source
link	page		part of UNESCO World Heritage Site page@		Wikidata
link	page		World Heritage Site page@		Wikidata
site	cave		Longmen Grottoes	grotto	Wikidata
site	cave		Shuiquan Grottoes	archaeological site, cave	Wikidata
commons	image		Longmen Grottoes - Caves on the West Hill 68		Commons
commons	image		Longmen Grottoes - Caves on the West Hill 128		Commons
commons	image		Longmen Grottoes - Caves on the West Hill 107		Commons
commons	image		Longmen Grottoes - Caves on the West Hill 91		Commons
commons	image		Longmen Grottoes - Caves on the West Hill 40		Commons
commons	image		Longmen West Hill 27386-Luoyang (49067973008)		Commons
commons	image		Longmen Grottoes - Caves on the West Hill 64		Commons
commons	image		Longmen Grottoes - Caves on the West Hill 109		Commons
commons	image		Longmen Grottoes - Caves on the West Hill 90		Commons
commons	image		Emperor Xiaowen and his entourage worshipping the Buddha - relief panel, China (MET, 35.146)		Commons