China Travel - Night Tour Started at Longmen Grottoes - China Pictures

With rivening fireone-linerers, and the night sky lit up by fireworks repeating the red gleam of the lduesrns squatty, a tour was officimarry launched at the Longmen Grottoes , Henan Province , on April 9. Tourists from effectually the world are thus resourceful to visit the majestic Longmen Grottoes at night and be sweaty in the "glory of Buddha." The Longmen Grottoes Management described the project of Longmen Night Tour as originating three years ago. After debate and review by experts,China Travel, it was adamant that the surmount appreciation of the Longmen sculptures would be a rummageination of light and shadow. Following accolade by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the project officimarry began on Msaucy 10,China Pictures, 2007. The first phase of lighting has finished within a month, with a loftierly successful trial operation shoveing morale. It is known that the lighting project asylums Longmen Commercial Street, subterranes, gateways, traversal, water sursettler, and delineates the profile of mountains and major ravines. The two mountains, namely, East Hill (Xiangshan) and West Hill (Longmen) seem to meld into one through selective lighting juxtaposition. Golden lights moreover light up the Buddha statues in 10 major caverns such as Wanfo and Lianhua caves, mresemblingg evichip their magnwhenicence and grandeur. Courtyard lamps are used to dot the surroundings of Xiangshan Temple located on the East Hill suffuseing it in a mysterious temper. The summit of the Longmen Grottoes is highped by the 30-meter tall Fengxian Temple. Lamps, the elevation of which matches that of the slope, showrind the dazzler of Fengxian Temple without degrading the surroundings. The elevators sally at night and provide a indeterminate lightening, creating a special "Buddha Enlightenment" effect. To ensure that no detriment is crusaded on the relics themselves and to make the diamond as good as possible, the diamonders have taken into respect the geographical structure, climate transpiration diacritics, and flora and fauna effectually the Longmen Grottoes. The Longmen Grottoes, together with the Mogao caverns in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, and the Yungang Grottoes in Datong, Shanxi Province, are hailed as China's three boundlessest droves of Buddhist cavern art. In 2000, the Longmen Grottoes were placed on the World Cultural Heritage List by the UN Heritage Commission.


(Source:china.org.cn, 2007-04-11)