Yungang Grottoes
Located in the city of Datong in North China's Shanxi province, the Yungang Grottoes are the largest and most famous in the country. Among its 45 caves, the Tan Yao Five Caves are the most eye-catching. One of them features a 17-m high giant Buddha statue ringed by smaller statues and niches.
The Yungang Grottoes are closely linked to the history of the nomadic Sienpi people, who used to roam northern China. In 389AD, the Tuoba tribe of the Sienpi people established the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534AD).
It is said that Emperor Wencheng of the Northern Wei Dynasty was riding his horse when he met a learned monk named Tan Yao. The emperor and the empress honored him as their mentor and asked him to preside over the construction of five grand caves in the Wuzhou Hills.
Datong is easy to reach by air, rail and highway from all major cities in north China.
Longmen Grottoes
Built 13 km to the south of Luoyang, Henan province, these grottoes contain more than 100,000 statues in 1,300 caves, dating from 494 AD to the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127).
More lifelike than the Yungang Grottoes, most were created in the Tang Dynasty (618-907AD) during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian (624-705AD), who was a fervent Buddhist.
Folk legends say that the 17-m tall Vairocana Buddha statue at Fengxian Temple was modeled on the empress herself.
A good choice for a souvenir is a lantern in a style dating back to the 1st century AD.
