Longshan Grottoes

Longshan Grottoes

The Longshan Grottoes are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Longshan Grottoes are located in the southwest of Taiyuan, where the mountain features many stone carvings and statues dating back to the Northern Qi Dynasty. Originally, there was the Tongzi Temple built in the seventh year of the Tianbao era of the Northern Qi Dynasty, which was destroyed during the Jin Dynasty. Today, some small Buddha reliefs and a stone lantern tower remain. The tower stands 5.3 meters tall, with a hexagonal base, a round lamp base, and a hexagonal lamp chamber on top, all adorned with relief decorations. It is the oldest existing stone lantern tower in China.

At the site of the former Shimen Temple, there are also grottoes featuring a three-meter-tall seated statue of Sakyamuni. The lotus on the top and the flying apsaras on the walls exhibit Tang Dynasty styles. Nearby is the "Haotian Guan" (Temple of Heaven), which, although now in ruins, still preserves well-preserved Taoist grottoes. There are a total of eight caves: the Xu Huang niche, San Qing niche, Wo Ru niche, Xuan Zhen niche, San Shi niche, Qi Zhen niche, and two other Bian Dao niches. These caves house over 40 stone statues, all of which remain well-preserved to this day.

The stone sculptures feature simple and solemn styles, with plain and concise clothing carvings, showing clear differences from the sculptural styles found in Buddhist grottoes. In some niches, the cave ceilings are carved with patterns such as lotuses and dragons-phoenixes.

The landscape of the Tianlongshan Grottoes dates back to the Northern and Southern Dynasties period. During the Eastern Wei Dynasty, the powerful prime minister Gao Huan built a summer palace, excavated grottoes, and constructed temples on Tianlong Mountain, marking the beginning of the area’s Buddhist history. The grotto temples are distributed along the cliffs between the eastern and western peaks, totaling 25 caves and more than 500 statues. Initially carved during the Eastern Wei Dynasty, they continued through the Northern Qi Dynasty and flourished during the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Most of the caves have square floor plans with equal width and depth, and caves with three walls and three niches account for more than half of the total. The carving techniques used in the grotto temples represent significant progress compared to those of the Northern Wei Dynasty, serving as a typical example of how this foreign art form gradually became Sinicized. Especially notable are the Buddha statues carved using the round sculpture method, which depict figures in three-dimensional space, combining the elegant and soft characteristics of Indian Buddha statues with the fresh rhythms or lines of traditional Chinese carving. This gives the statues a noble expression, full body forms, and graceful postures, known as the “Tianlongshan Style,” which later became the foundational model for Chinese Buddhist statues. In the early 1920s, the grottoes suffered severe damage from imperialism, with most of their finest pieces stolen and scattered abroad, mainly to Japan and Europe. Located below the grottoes is the Shengshou Temple, originally named Tianlong Temple, established in the first year of the Huangjian era of the Northern Qi Dynasty (560 AD). It was renamed during the Song and Yuan Dynasties, rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty, and is an ancient temple with a long history. Additionally, the Thousand Buddha Cave, White Dragon Shrine, Guan Yu Temple, Guanyin Pagoda, and Liuzigou are all important sites on Tianlong Mountain, associated with many beautiful myths and legends throughout history.

A total of eight caves were carved into the cliffs at the mountaintop: the Xu Huang niche, San Qing niche, Wo Ru niche, Xuan Zhen niche, San Shi niche, Qi Zhen niche, and two Bian Dao niches. The Longshan Grottoes contain 66 Taoist stone sculptures, eight relief carvings of cloud-dragons, a double-phoenix caisson ceiling, and many other reliefs such as cranes. The stone sculptures are simple, concise, solemn, and dignified, with plain and distinct-folded clothing, distinctly different from the styles of Buddhist grotto statues. Some niches have inscriptions from the Yuan Dynasty on their side walls and front walls, serving as valuable materials for studying the history of Taoism and Taoist grottoes.

The grottoes are divided into three groups from top to bottom and from west to east. The Xu Huang niche is located at the top of Longshan Mountain, housing carvings of the Taoist Primordial Heavenly Worthy and 20 deities of the various Xu Huang Daojun on the cave walls. The San Qing niche is located below the Xu Huang niche, featuring in the center three stone-carved seated statues of the Primordial Heavenly Worthy, Lingbao Heavenly Worthy, and the Supreme Old Lord, each 1.5 meters tall, along with six immortals and six attendants on the side walls. The Wo Ru niche is located east of the San Qing niche, where a stone platform in the cave holds the reclining statue of Song Defang, also known as Piyunzi, with a natural and serene expression. Behind him stand two attendants, and the niche ceiling features four dragons coiling, realistically depicting the Taoist Quanzhen Longmen Sect’s breathing technique known as the “Jade Dragon Coiling Body Method.” From west to east among the massive rocks, the San Tian Shi niche houses stone statues of the founder of Taoism, Zhang Daoling, and his son Zhang Heng and grandson Zhang Lu, each 1.35 meters tall, along with eight attendant statues standing at attention. The style and techniques of these statues exhibit Tang Dynasty characteristics. The Xuan Zhen niche contains three statues, with the main figure being Zhang Zihuo, a prominent figure of the Orthodox Unity Sect of Taoism. Its carving style and form are similar to those of the San Tian Shi statues. The Wu Zao Bian Dao niche features three stone statues of Piyunzi, his junior disciple Quan, and disciple Qin Zhian discussing Taoist scriptures. On the right side of the niche, a small door shows a boy holding a book, standing sideways as if listening intently and unwilling to leave—a scene full of life and charm. The niche walls preserve well-composed inscriptions praising Piyunzi’s achievements and self-praising poems, offering a true reflection of the lives of Taoist practitioners during the Yuan Dynasty. The most valuable niche for sightseeing and exploring history in the Longshan Grottoes is the Qi Zhen niche, also known as the Xuan Men Lie Zu niche. It houses nine statues, with carvings of green dragons, white tigers, cranes, and cloud-dragons on both sides of the entrance, symbolizing a divine mountain paradise and authentically reflecting the scene of the Seven True Masters of the Quanzhen Sect lecturing on Taoist scriptures.

Special Tips

Many people confuse the Longshan Grottoes in the suburbs of Taiyuan with the Tianlongshan Grottoes, but they are actually two different sites. The Longshan Grottoes are Taoist grottoes, while the Tianlongshan Grottoes are Buddhist grottoes.

Address: Jinyuan District, Taiyuan City (approximately 20 kilometers southwest of the city center, west side of Provincial Highway 039)

Transportation

Take bus 308 from the north exit of the train station and get off at “Xizhen.” Walk 100 meters north, then take the small path west of the “Nannao Cement Factory” sign up the mountain. Pass by the “Longshan Ski Resort,” and you will soon reach the mountain foot.

Type: Historical Site

Recommended Visiting Time: 1–2 hours

Opening Hours:

Monday–Sunday, 8:00–17:00

Ticket Information:

Gate Price: 20.0 RMB

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units