Located in central China's Henan Province, the Longmen Grottoes is a World Cultural Heritage recognized by UNESCO in 2000. The stone carvings in Longmen Grottoes were started from the reign of Emperor Xiaowen of North Wei Dynasty (471-477) and lasted over 400 years to complete. Representing the highest stone-carving level of China, the Longmen Grottoes stretches about 1 kilometer from south to north, with over 1,300 grottoes, 2,345 shrines, over 3,600 inscriptions, over 50 pagodas and over 97,000 Buddha statues. It is not only a stone-carving art museum, but also an encyclopedia of history and culture.(People's Daily Online)
Henan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Henan is the birthplace of Chinese civilization with over 5,000 years of history, and remained China's cultural, economical, and political center until approximately 1,000 years ago. Numerous heritages have been left behind including the ruins of the Shaolin Temple.
