Longmen Grottoes Exploration: How Much History Can We Uncover?

⏰Opening Hours: Tickets are sold from 8:00 to 16:30. Ticket checking stops at 17:00, and the site closes at 18:00. 🎫Ticket Prices: Full price tickets are CNY 90/person, and half-price tickets are CNY 45/person. Minors aged 6 (excluding 6) to 18 (including 18), full-time undergraduate and below students, etc., can enjoy half price. Seniors aged 60 (including 60) and above, people with disabilities, retired personnel, disabled revolutionary soldiers, active-duty soldiers, etc., are admitted free of charge. 💁Suggested Visiting Time: 4–5 hrs. For an in-depth visit, you can plan for a full day. 🚏Transportation Guide 🚄High-speed Rail: Luoyang Longmen High-speed Railway Station is about 4 km from the Longmen Grottoes. Take bus No. 67/71 and get off at "Longmen Grottoes Station." You can also take a taxi directly from the drop-off area of the high-speed railway station, and it takes about 10 mins to arrive. ✈️Airplane: From the terminal building of Luoyang Beijiao Airport, take a taxi or take bus No. 83 first, then transfer to bus No. 81 and get off at "Longmen Grottoes Station." The airport is about 24.7 km from the Longmen Grottoes. 🚘Self-driving: After exiting the Longmen Station of the Erguang Expressway, turn right, go along Longgu Road and Longmen North Bridge, and turn left at the traffic light to reach the Northeast Service Area Ecological Parking Lot of the Longmen Grottoes. 🚌Bus: You can take bus routes 53, 60, 67, 71, 81, 99, etc. 📌Tour Routes ◾️Classic Route (suitable for energetic tourists): Great Stone Gate Entrance - Longmen Bridge - Yu Wang Pond - Qianxi Temple - Binyang Three Caves - Three Buddha Niches on the Cliff - Ten Thousand Buddha Cave - Lotus Cave - Fengxian Temple - Guyang Cave - Yaofang Cave - Yi Que Bridge - Leigutai Three Caves - Kanjing Temple - Worship Platform - Xiangshan Temple - Bai Garden. This route allows you to fully appreciate the essence of the Longmen Grottoes without retracing your steps. ◾️Parent-child Route (suitable for families with children): Great Stone Gate Entrance - Pine Forest - Longmen Bridge - Yu Wang Pond - Qianxi Temple - Binyang Three Caves - Ten Thousand Buddha Cave - Fengxian Temple - Guyang Cave - Worship Platform - Nine Elders Hall of Xiangshan Temple - Bai Garden Paradise - Bai Garden Poetry Corridor. This route selects attractions suitable for children, increasing interactive fun. ◾️Family Route (suitable for accompanying parents): Great Stone Gate Entrance - Longmen Bridge - Yu Wang Pond - Qianxi Temple - Binyang Three Caves - Ten Thousand Buddha Cave - Fengxian Temple - Yi Que Bridge - Worship Platform. This route offers a reasonable itinerary, avoids excessive fatigue, and focuses on the awe-inspiring Lushena Buddha. ◾️Calligraphy Route (suitable for calligraphy lovers): Great Stone Gate Entrance - Longmen Bridge - Yi Que Gate - Chen Tuan Cross Stele - Middle Binyang Cave (Stele of Yi Que Buddha Niche) - Fengxian Temple - Guyang Cave (Twenty Dragon Gate Inscriptions) - Qianlong Imperial Stele Pavilion of Xiangshan Temple - Bai Garden Poetry Corridor. This route focuses on appreciating the calligraphy inscriptions in the grottoes. 🏝Attraction Introduction 📍West Hill Grottoes: Gathering 90% of the grotto statues, it is the essence of the scenic area. The Lushena Buddha in Fengxian Temple is 17.14m high, with a plump shape. It is the largest Buddha statue in the Longmen Grottoes and the pinnacle of Tang Dynasty stone carving art. Guyang Cave is the earliest opened and richest cave in the Longmen Grottoes, with more than 1,000 niches of various shapes inside. The caisson on the top of the Lotus Cave has exquisite high-relief giant lotuses, and the surrounding flying Apsaras statues are extremely beautiful. The Ten Thousand Buddha Cave is carved with more than 15,000 small Buddha statues, creating a scene of the Western Paradise. 📍East Hill Grottoes: Facing the West Hill Grottoes across the river, there are relatively fewer statues, mainly Tang Dynasty Buddha niches, and the environment is quiet and serene. The Leigutai Site Museum has a rich collection of exhibits. Kanjing Temple has twenty-nine Patriarch relief Arhats carved during Wu Zetian's reign. The Worship Platform offers a panoramic view of the Lushena Buddha and the Longmen scenery. 📍Xiangshan Temple: Built in the Northern Wei Dynasty and favored during the Wu Zhou period, it is simple and tranquil. Wu Zetian visited the Stone Building many times, leaving behind the story of "Writing Poems on Xiangshan Mountain and Winning Brocade Robes." Bai Juyi lived here in his later years and formed the "Nine Elders of Xiangshan Mountain" with his friends, drinking and writing poems. 📍Bai Garden: This is the tomb of Bai Juyi, built against the mountain, with pavilions, terraces, and open halls, stele corridors, lush forests and bamboos, and murmuring streams. It offers beautiful scenery. Le Tian Tang has a white marble statue of Bai Juyi, and the Poetry Corridor displays 27 of his poems. 📸Photo Spots ▪️Clothing Suggestions: Wearing solid-color or ancient-style clothes is very photogenic, such as light-colored clothing like white, beige, and light blue, or ancient-style costumes like Hanfu and Tangzhuang. ▪️Photo Spots: Take a low-angle shot in front of the Lushena Buddha to highlight the grandeur of the Buddha and the smallness of oneself. Take a photo with your back to the camera on the Yi River Bridge with the grottoes as the background for an artistic feel. The Worship Platform allows you to capture the Lushena Buddha and the surrounding mountains and rivers in one frame, creating a magnificent view. Le Tian Tang and the Poetry Corridor in Bai Garden are full of cultural atmosphere, suitable for character close-ups. 🍽Food Recommendations ✔️Longmen Water Banquet Garden: Featuring authentic Luoyang water banquets, this is a unique traditional banquet in Luoyang. The whole banquet has 24 dishes, including meat and vegetables, with a sour and spicy taste, very distinctive. ✔️Dragon Noodles: The restaurant offers a variety of Henan noodles, including signature Dragon Noodles, Hui Noodles, and Fried Tripe Noodles. The noodles are chewy, and the soup is rich. ✔️Luoyang Mutton Soup: Luoyang people love soup. The mutton soup is milky white, fresh but not gamey, and the soup is thick. A bowl of it will warm you up. There are many time-honored mutton soup restaurants in Longmen Ancient Street near the Northwest Service Area. 💡Important Notes ✅Cultural Relic Protection: Do not touch or climb the Buddha statues, do not carve at will, and visit with civility. ✅Weather Protection: Pay attention to sun protection in summer, bring hats, sunscreen, and sunglasses, and replenish water in time. Pay attention to keeping warm in winter, wear thick clothes and gloves. ✅Scenic Area Order: Follow the regulations of the scenic area, do not smoke in the scenic area, and keep the environment clean. Obey the staff's arrangements and do not forcibly enter unopened areas. ✅Other: If you need tour guide services, you can make a reservation at the tour guide center at the entrance or rent an audio guide to better understand the history and culture of the Longmen Grottoes. Want to explore the veins of history? Come to the Longmen Grottoes, see the pinnacle of stone carving art, and listen to the footsteps of time.