Longmen Grottoes Temple, China

One of the most spectacular sights is the Buddhist Longmen Grottoes Temple located in the Chinese province of Henan. It is an incredibly beautiful complex of several hundreds of caves, which have been cut within the limestone rocks at the shore of Yihe River. Besides caves, statues of Buddhist deities, images of the monks, as well as other interesting reliefs typical for Buddhist culture are carved in the rocks.

The tradition of building cave temples has originated in China more than 2 000 years ago and reached its peak in the 7th century.  Not only the imperial persons, but also ordinary people donated money for carved temples and statues. In the 7th century, after beginning of Tang Dynasty, construction of cave temples gained incredible proportions. More than 60 percent of all existing facilities were created that time. The Longmen temple complex remained far better than others. It withstood the ravages of the opponents of Buddhism and traditional looters for hundreds of years.

A few years ago, the ancient temple complex was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and turned into a museum. Today, it is not only an important pilgrimage place, but also a tourist destination. Travelers visit the most amazing ones in series of caves. There they can see ancient sculpture and precious religious artifacts. Next to the temple complex, there’s another major attraction. It is the manor house of the famous poet Bai Juyi dating back to the 9th century. His tomb is also situated there. Next - Bagan Ancient City