Longmen Caves – (龍門 石窟) Henan, China

The Longmen caves (in Chinese: 龍門 石窟, which means “dragon door caves”) are a series of rock sanctuaries located in Henan province, China. These caves dot the Xiangshan and Longmenshan mountains, and represent one of the best examples of Chinese Buddhist art. The construction of the caves began in 493. The complex consists of 2,345 caves and over 100,000 statues of the Buddha and his disciples. There are also 2,800 inscriptions, 43 pagodas and different steles. Some of the caves date back to the Wei dynasty, but most of them were built at the behest of the Tang dynasty. In 2000 Longmen caves were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.