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.