Longmen Caves Stock Photo

Luoyang,once the capital of 13 dynasties,does not offer many historical reminders that it's more than 5,000 years old.Luoyang is now best used as a base to explore the Longmen Caves,7.4 miles(12km)from the city. The caves got the name Longmen,which means Dragon Gate,because the two mountains appear as a gate with the Yi River running through it,and when the Sui dynasty emperor built his palace in Luoyang,it faces the mountain gates. Work at the Longmen Caves started in AD 493 when the emperor of the Northern Wei dynasty moved his capital from Pingcheng(now Datong) to Luoyang.It continued up to the Qing dynasty with two thirds of the caves dating to the Song dynasty.There are 2.345 niches,over 2.840 inscribed tablets,more than 60 pagodas and some 100,000 stone statues. This is the largest statue at the Longmen Caves,that of Sakyamuni.