Spiritual Niche

Construction vehicles work the ground at the Longmen Grottoes near Luoyang in Henan Province, China. Situated along both banks of the Yi River, the site’s numerous caves and niches house thousands of Buddhist statues carved from the stone cliffs. Longmen’s works—including nearly 3,000 inscriptions—were carved during the late Northern Wei and early Tang dynasties, with the earliest carvings dating to the late fifth century.