The Longmen Grottoes

In between Shaolin and Luoyang, we have stopped at a pretty place on the Yi River. Thousands of Buddha sculptures are carved in caves on the cliff face, many of which were damaged during the cultural revolution. A temple also sits at the top of a long staircase on the hill, a very scenic spot where my camera battery died. 

A famous Chinese poet lived there and is buried in an elaborate garden graveyard beside the temple. One of his poems said something about living there peacefully in nature with a shelf of books and sweet tasting wine. Dozens of little Chinese shops line the exit road selling cheap souvenirs, a large vase selling for 30 Y interested me but I’ve no way to get it home. I bought 2 t-shirts from the hotel in Shaolin before leaving for the cost of 50Y, less than 10USD.

Tomorrow morning we take a day train to Xi’an, good, because I’m still recovering from the last overnight train. I haven’t eaten all day because the options seem only to be a huge sit down meal served family style, food from the street, or packages from a convenience store. It will be nice to return home and have the option of just making a sandwich, but I do enjoy dining with the company of the group. Hard, or strange, to think in just a few days these people will only be a memory and won’t be there every morning joining me in some hassle or adventure.