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Welcome to Linda's and Garr's China pictures. |
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| The Luoyang telecommunications tower, the "Eiffel Tower of Luoyang". This was a view from the bus on the way to Longmen Grottos. |
| Tourists at Longmen (Long = Dragon, men = gate) Grottos outside of Luoyang. |
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| The holes in the hillside each contained a buddha, and some contained accompanying figures: guards, disciples, and the like. There has been much damage to the Buddhas, some by Europeans who took the Buddhas or pieces of them they could break loose back to museums, and some by Chinese "businessmen," who knew they could sell just a Buddha head for a good price. Even so, a lot of Buddhas remain, at least in part. The smallest Buddha is only a few centimeters tall, and the largest, with her guards, is further along in these pictures. |
| Kevin, our Luoyang guide, poses as a Buddha where a Buddha carved out of the stone hill once stood. |
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| One of the larger Buddhas. |
| Carved character at Longmen Grottos. |
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| Linda, Carol, Stan, and Garr at Longmen Grottos near Luoyang, Henan Province, China. |
| A guard figure for one of the Buddhas at Longmen Grottos. |
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| Longmen Buddhist cliff carvings outside Luoyang |
| One of the larger Buddhas at Longmen Grottos. |
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| A pomegranate tree at Longmen Grottos. |
| Above are two of the guards for the largest Buddha at Longmen Grottos. Below are two silly American tourists. These guards are on our right, Buddha's left. Note the square holes in the wall. These held wooden beams that supported a roof at some time in the past. |
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| Another figure near the largest Buddha. Notice the intricate carving in the crown. |
| Another picture of two of the same guard figures as above. Fortunately we didn't often forget what we'd taken pictures of already, but we did here. |
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| The largest Buddha at Longmen Grottos. She is somewhat damaged. I say "she" because the face is that of the Empress who had the figure carved in 675 A.D. She paid twenty thousand pots of coins, each containing about 100 coins, to have the statue made. Lacking arms, this figure is known as the "Venus of the East". If my notes are correct the figure is 17.14 meters high. |
| Same Buddha as at left, taken by Melanie. |
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| Disciple figures near the Buddha. |
| The two guards on Buddha's right didn't survive as well as those on the left. At the bottom is our national guide, Mr. Yang (pronounced "Young") in the blue shirt. |
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| Buddhas by the dozen as you move away from the large Buddha. |
| Tourists, Linda and Garr, at Longmen Grottos. |
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| Opposite the hillside where the Buddhas are carved is this river. Melanie poses here for a picture. |
| Childrens' Playland, the Luoyang version of Disneyland, as seen from the bus on the way back from Longmen Grottos. |
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