Longmen Shiku, or Dragon Gate Grottoes, commonly called the Longmen Grottoes, is a series of caves carved out of the mountainside along the Yi River that house tributes to Buddhism. The area was named a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in 2000. There are more than 2,100 grottoes housing more than 100,000 statues and 3,600 inscriptions and stelaes. The site represents a zenith in Chinese stone carving art and comprises the largest collection of Chinese Buddhist art of the Northern Wei and Tang Dynasties (316-907). Visitors today can discern the different carving and aesthetic styles of the different dynasties.

Three Binyang Caves

Construction began on the Three Binyang Caves during the Northern Wei dynasty. Despite the completion of two of the caves during the Sui and Tang dynasties, statues here all display the benevolent expressions that characterized Northern Wei style.

Ten Thousand Buddha Cave

South from Three Binyang Caves, the Tang dynasty Ten Thousand Buddha Cave (Wan Fo Dong) dates from 680. In addition to its name-sake galaxy of tiny bas-relief Buddhas there is a fine effigy of the Amitabha Buddha.

Lotus Flower Cave

The Lotus Flower Cave (Lianhua Dong) was carved in 527 during the Northern Wei dynasty and has a large standing Buddha, now faceless. On the cave’s ceiling are wispy apsaras (celestial nymphs) drifting around a central lotus flower. An oft-employed symbol in Buddhist art, the lotus flower is a metaphor for purity and serenity.

Ancestor Worshipping Temple

Carved in the Tang dynasty between 672 and 675, this temple (Fengxian Si) is the largest structure at Longmen and contains the best works of art, despite the evident weathering.

Tang figures tend to be more three-dimensional than the Northern Wei figures. Their expressions and poses also appear more natural and, unlike the other-worldly figures of the Northern Wei, the Tang figures add a fearsome ferocity to their human forms.

The 17m-high seated central Buddha is said to be Losana. Allegedly, the face was modelled on Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang dynasty, who founded the carving of the statue.

Medical Prescription Cave

Located south of Ancestor Worshipping Temple is the tiny Medical Prescription Cave (Yàofāng Dòng). The entrance to this cave is filled with 6th-century stone stelae inscribed with remedies for a range of common ailments.

Earliest Cave

Adjacent to the Medical Prescription Cave is the larger Earliest Cave (Gǔyáng Dòng), carved between 495 and 575. It’s a narrow, high-roofed cave featuring a Buddha statue and a profusion of sculptures, particularly of flying apsaras.

Carved Cave

The Carved Cave (Shíkū Dòng) is the last major cave in the Lóngmén complex and features intricate carvings depicting religious processions of the Northern Wei dynasty.

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