Second stop: Luoyang
After resting in my hometown for a few days, we headed for Luoyang (洛阳), where the Longmen Grottoes (龙门石窟) are. This was a place I had long wanted to see, and you will see why.
(Click on each image to see the high-resolution version)
But our first stop after reaching Longyang was the White Horse Temple (白马寺), which is the first Buddhist temple in China (built in 67AD, more than 2,000 years ago), and where Buddhism reached China and took roots. The name of the temple conmemorates the white horses that carried Buddhist saints and scriptures to China, and there are several of white horse statues there.
But for sure the place we wanted to see was Longmen Grottoes. There are as many as 100,000 statues in the 1,400 caves there, the largest of which is the statue of Lochana Buddha (or Lushena Buddha, or Buddhalocana, or Vairocana in various Buddhist nomenclature; Chinese: 卢舍那佛), which is 17 meter (57 feet) high and it is an amazing work of art, despite its being defaced over the years.
There are many, many statues, sculptures and steles on the mountain side and in the caves. I could spend days there just admiring them. The following are but a few that I have photographed.
After crossing the Luo River, the mountain side was an astounding and awe-inspiring sight to behold. How could those artists from more than 1,000 years ago (in fact, as much as more than 1,600 years ago) chisel out such massive statues? And make them so beautiful and serene. This was one of the moments when I was proud of my Chinese heritage.
White Horse Statue
White Horse Statue
Lochana Buddha (卢舍那佛)
Lochana Buddha (卢舍那佛)
Lochana Buddha (卢舍那佛)
Lochana Buddha (卢舍那佛)
Buddhist Statue
Buddhist Statue
Buddhist Statue
Buddhist Statue
Buddhist Statue
Buddhist Statue
Buddhist Statue
Buddhist Statue
Buddhist Statue
Buddhist Statue
Buddhist Statue
Buddhist Statue
Buddhist Statue
Lochana Buddha (卢舍那佛)
