The Longmen Grottoes are located about 15 kilometers south of Luoyang. I arrived there by taxi in the late afternoon. There's a large sign just past the entrance that it is forbidden to take pictures, except "for personal souvenir". The Chinese were happily snapping away though, so after some hesitation, I did the same. The many sculptures are well visible within their caves. Most of them have their heads smashed, a result of the Cultural Revolution.

The two highlights for me were the Wanfo Cave and the Binyang Cave. The Wanfo Cave is were 15,000 small statues of Buddha are chiseled in the walls of the cave. Binyang is the biggest area, where the huge statues are almost out in the open.

Across the bridge, on the East Hill, there are more grottoes. I found these less spectacular than the ones on the West Hill. It is worth to get over anyway because there's a great overview of all the caves on the other side. The enormity of it all becomes much clearer then.

It is tempting of course to compare these carvings to the ones I saw earlier this trip in Dazu. The Longmen Grottoes are from a much earlier period however. They lack the colouring and the details of social life that characterize Dazu. The interest of the Longmen Grottoes lies in the size of the area and the multitude of Buddhist carvings that are present.