The origin of Longmen Grottoes

The Longmen Grottoes were excavated during the reign of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Afterwards, they were built on a large scale for more than 400 years through the Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song and other dynasties. They are 1 kilometer long from north to south. Today, There are 2,345 cave niches, more than 100,000 statues, and more than 2,800 inscriptions.

Among them, "Twenty Products of Longmen" is the essence of Wei calligraphy stele, and "Stele of Yique Buddhist Niche" written by Chu Suiliang is a model of regular script art in the early Tang Dynasty.

The Longmen Grottoes lasted for a long time and spanned many dynasties. They reflected the development and changes in ancient China's politics, economy, religion, culture and many other fields from different aspects with a large number of physical images and written materials. They also exerted great influence on Chinese grotto art. has made significant contributions to innovation and development. It was listed as a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2000.

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Protection and restoration

In 1961, the State Council announced the Longmen Grottoes as one of the first batch of key cultural relics protection units in the country.

In 1982, Longmen Scenic Area was announced as one of the first batch of national-level scenic spots in the country.

In November 2000, UNESCO included the Longmen Grottoes in the World Cultural Heritage List.

In April 2007, it was rated as one of the first batch of "5A tourist attractions" in the country by the National Tourism Administration.

In 2009, the Longmen Grottoes were included by the China World Records Association as the grotto with the most existing cave niches in China, creating the largest number of existing cave niches in China.

The facial renovation project of the Lucena Buddha in Longmen Grottoes was completed on March 28, 2007. The conservation staff did not carry out major repairs to the Buddha. They only dusted and decontaminated the surface of the Buddha, blocking the Buddha itself and the surrounding area. Thin seams around the perimeter.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Longmen Grottoes