Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang

The Longmen Grottoes located in Luoyang, Henan Province are a treasure house of stone carvings, boasting the largest number and scale of stone statues. The site ranks top of the four major grottoes in China, followed by the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang of Gansu Province, the Yungang Grottoes in Datong of Shanxi Province, and the Maiji Mountain Grottoes in Tianshui of Gansu Province.

The carving of the Longmen Grottoes began in the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534), came into full swing in the Tang Dynasty, and was completed in the late Qing Dynasty, spanning more than 1,400 years through over 10 dynasties, the longest in the world. The grottoes contained colored paintings, though mostly faded today. Densely located on both banks of the Yishui River, the Longmen Grottoes comprise more than 110,000 stone statues shrined in 2,345 caves and niches carved into the steep cliffs over a one-kilometer-long stretch from north to south. They are the only royal grottoes in the world as most of the statues were built under the patronage of the royal families.

The magnificent Longmen Grottoes, the exquisite statues in the caves, and the wide variety of themes and contents make a valuable, comprehensive library of materials and references regarding religion, art, architecture, calligraphy, music, apparel, medicine, and other aspects.

They reflect from different perspectives the evolution in ancient China's politics, economy, religions, culture, and other sectors and make great contributions to the innovation and development of Chinese grotto art.

The Longmen Grottoes also abound in exotic elements, such as musical instruments from the Western Regions, ancient Greek columns, and European emblazonry, indicating the blending and fusion of various civilizations back in the years. They not only display China's time- honored art forms, but also preserve world cultural diversity. In November 2000, they were included in the UNESCO's World Heritage List.

洛陽龍門石窟

龍門石窟位于河南省洛陽市，是世界上現存造像數量最多、規模最大的石刻藝術寶庫，與敦煌莫高窟、云岡石窟和麥積山石窟并稱為中國四大石窟，并位居四大石窟之首。

龍門石窟始鑿于北魏時期，盛于唐，終于清末，歷經10多個朝代營造長達1400余年，是世界上營造時間最長的石窟。建造時采用了大量彩繪，今多已褪色。龍門石窟密布于伊水東西兩山的峭壁上，南北長達1千米，現存洞窟像龕2345個，造像11萬余尊。龍門石窟造像多為皇家貴族所建，是世界上絕無僅有的皇家石窟。

龍門石窟規模宏大，氣勢磅礴，窟內造像雕刻精湛，內容題材豐富，有大量宗教、美術、建筑、書法、音樂、服飾、醫藥等方面的實物資料，從不同側面反映了中國古代政治、經濟、宗教、文化等許多領域的發展變化，為中國石窟藝術的創新與發展作出了重大貢獻。

龍門石窟還涵蓋諸多域外元素，例如西域樂器、古希臘石柱、歐洲紋樣等，這些都彰顯了龍門石窟是多元文明交融的產物。龍門石窟不僅展現了中國歷史悠久的藝術形式，也為推動世界文化多樣性發揮了重要作用。2000年11月，龍門石窟被列入聯合國教科文組織《世界遺產名錄》。