The Longmen Grottoes are located sixteen kilometers south of Luoyang

  The Longmen Grottoes are located sixteen kilometers south of Luoyang in Henan province, on the banks of the Yi River. They constitute a world-renowned artistic treasure, now protected as a National Key Cultural Relics Protected Unit and listed as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 2000. The grottoes were begun in the year 494 AD, around the time the Northern Wei Emperor Xiao Wen moved the capital to Luoyang. The caves then passed through some 400 years of carving and construction, through the dynasties of East and West Wei, Northern Qi, Sui, Tang, and Northern Song. The grottoes honeycomb the mountains.

    Adjacent to the Medical Prescription Cave is the much larger Earliest Cave, carved between AD 495 and 575. It's a narrow, high-roofted cave featuring a Buddha statue and a profusion of sculptures, particularly of flying apsaras. This was probably the first cave of the Longmen group to be built.
    During the history, some parts of Longmen Grottoes were destroyed by erosion and vandalism. Numerous crevices in the rock bases cause some caves to become unstable or even to collapse, thus damaging the sculptures. Saline sediments resulting from acid rain, train and automobile vibrations and natural disasters have also affected the site. To protect the valuable treasure house, the central and local governments are endeavoring to improve the environment of the the scenic area.