Gongyi Grottoes.

Gongyi Grottoes gives people the same feeling as Gongyi, a county-level city, quiet. It's so quiet that you don't think about the direction of your journey, you just want to stay quietly in this comfort. Gongyi Grotto Temple is located at the foot of Dali Mountain in Siwan Village, Nanhedu Township, 13 kilometers northeast of Gongyi. The earliest extant "Stele of Xixuan Temple of Emperor Xiaowen of the Later Wei Dynasty" extant in the Grotto Temple was carved during the Longshuo period of the Tang Dynasty (AD 661-663), less than two hundred years before Emperor Xiaowen of the Wei Dynasty (AD 471-499). The inscription records: "...In the past, Emperor Xiaowen of the Wei Dynasty made his fortune in Jinshan. He was far away from the jade barrier. He looked at the moon while bending the arc. He controlled the horse to chase the wind. He turned the lightning to Yizhen. The clouds flew to Gongluo. He stopped at the land and founded Jialan... ” It can be seen that the temple was established here during the reign of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty. After moving the capital to Luoyang, Emperor Xiaowen built large-scale grottoes on both sides of the Yishui River in Longmen. Gongyi Grottoes is another cave run by the royal family of the Northern Wei Dynasty after Luoyang Longmen. According to the "Rebuilding the Grotto Temple Stele" written by Hongzhi of the Ming Dynasty: "Since the reign of Emperor Xuan of the Later Wei Dynasty between Jingming and Ming Dynasty (500 to 503 AD), caves have been carved out of stone and tens of thousands of Buddha statues have been carved. The number of Buddhas in the world cannot be compared..." After the Eastern Wei and Western Wei The Tang and Song Dynasties successively carved caves and statues here, forming the majestic and spectacular scale today. There are five caves in Gongyi Grottoes, and there are statue niches on the four walls of the cave. Cave 1, 2, 3 and 4 all have a central pillar, with a niche carved on each side of the central pillar. The size of the statue is larger than the niches on the wall, and it was carved by the main deity. Each niche has a statue of Sakyamuni Buddha, two attendant disciples and two Bodhisattvas, or one Buddha and two disciples, one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas. The Buddha statues in the grottoes are extremely exquisite, rich and diverse, and full of vitality. The "Picture of Emperors and Empresses Paying Respect to Buddha" in the first cave is an unparalleled national treasure; the flying apsara on the center pillar of the third cave is smart and elegant, and is a supreme treasure of Chinese apsara art. At the foot of Dali Mountain, facing the Yellow River in the north, look up at the grotto and worship.