Short answer
The Longmen Grottoes are a Tang and Northern Wei cave complex carved into the limestone cliffs of the Yi River gorge, about 13 kilometres south of Luoyang in Henan. Hundreds of caves and tens of thousands of small figures crowd both banks of the river, but the site is really about one image: the giant Vairocana Buddha in the Fengxian Temple, built under the Tang empress Wu Zetian.
The site splits across two hills. The West Hill holds the main caves; the East Hill adds Xiangshan Temple and Bai Garden across the river. A full-price ticket is listed at 90 RMB (half price 45 RMB), covering both hills.
Getting there is easy — Luoyang sits on the Beijing–Xi'an high-speed line, and Luoyang Longmen station is only about four kilometres from the entrance. Allow two to four hours, and go in the morning to catch the carved faces in direct light.
What the Longmen Grottoes are
Longmen is the youngest and most Chinese of the three great cave groups. Yungang in Datong came first under the Northern Wei, and the ruling family carried the practice south when they moved their capital to Luoyang in 494 CE. The work then continued for centuries, hitting its peak under the Tang dynasty in the seventh and eighth centuries.
That long build is why the sculpture here reads differently from Dunhuang or Yungang. The figures are fully sinicised — softer faces, flowing Chinese robes, courtly postures — and the carvings are so densely packed that a single wall face can hold dozens of niches. The masterpiece is the Fengxian Temple, a cliff cut open into a giant open shrine around the 17-metre Vairocana Buddha.
Tickets
The site runs on real-name ticketing with a daily visitor cap, so booking ahead through the official channel is the reliable route in peak periods. Foreign visitors buy online with their passport details or at the ticket office.
| Item | Details | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Full-price ticket | 90 RMB | Covers West Hill, East Hill, Xiangshan Temple, Bai Garden |
| Discount ticket | 45 RMB | Standard discounts; children under 1.4 m free |
| Booking | Real-name, passport-linked | Buy online or at the ticket office |
| Night session | Separate ticket, own hours | Runs seasonally; check availability |
Opening hours and the night visit
The site opens at 08:00 year round. In the long season — roughly March through October — it runs later, with last admission around 18:00 and final clearance after that. Over winter, roughly November through February, last admission moves nearer 17:00. Ticket sales stop ahead of the last entry, and the big public holidays stretch the hours at both ends.
Longmen also runs a lit night session, a different experience from the daytime: the main caves are floodlit, and in the right season the whole cliff glows against the dark. Entry typically begins around 18:00 with closing around 21:00. It is ticketed separately, and it is one of the few cave sites in China where the evening can beat the morning.
Getting there by high-speed rail
Luoyang's advantage over most cave sites is how close the station sits. Luoyang Longmen station — the high-speed stop on the Beijing–Xi'an line — is about four kilometres from the entrance, a ten-minute taxi ride of roughly 20 to 30 RMB. That makes the grottoes one of China's easiest major heritage sites to reach straight off a train.
The line does the rest of the hard work. From Xi'an North the ride is only about one and a quarter to one and a half hours, with very frequent departures, so Luoyang works as a day trip or a stopover between Xi'an and Beijing. From Beijing the high-speed journey runs around four hours, dropping you at the same station.
Visiting order and how long to allow
Treat it as a one-way walk across the river rather than an out-and-back. Most of the important caves sit on the West Hill, strung along a cliff path. Your route through them climbs and descends the face — the Fengxian Temple with the Vairocana Buddha is the summit of it, literally and figuratively.
From there you cross the river by bridge to the East Hill, a quieter side with Xiangshan Temple, the garden and tomb associated with the poet Bai Juyi, and the best retrospective views back across the water to the lit cave mouths. Two to four hours covers both banks without rushing; the West Hill alone is a compact two-hour visit if you are short on time.
Rules visitors get caught out by
A few other points. The site enforces a daily visitor cap, so walk-up entry can fail on holidays and weekends — book ahead. Photography is fine in most outdoor areas, but follow signage where flash or tripods are restricted. And the carved faces show up far better in morning light, when the sun falls on the West Hill cliff, than in the flat grey of the afternoon.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the Longmen Grottoes ticket?
The full-price ticket is listed at 90 RMB with a half-price rate of 45 RMB, covering the West Hill caves, the East Hill caves, Xiangshan Temple and Bai Garden. Children under 1.4 metres are admitted free. Confirm the current price on the official channel.
What are the Longmen Grottoes opening hours?
The site opens at 08:00 year round. In the long season, roughly March through October, last admission is around 18:00; over the winter, roughly November through February, it runs to around 17:00. Ticket sales stop earlier than last admission, and holiday days can extend hours.
Is there a night visit at Longmen Grottoes?
Yes. The site runs a separate evening session with its own ticketing, typically with entry from around 18:00 and closing around 21:00, and the main caves are lit up. Night operations change with the season, so check the official channel for whether a night session is running on your date.
How do I get from Luoyang to Longmen Grottoes?
Luoyang Longmen station is the high-speed stop and sits about four kilometres from the site — around ten minutes by taxi. From Luoyang station, the conventional stop, bus 81 or a taxi around 50 RMB gets you there. Luoyang Beijiao airport is about nineteen kilometres away.
Which train station should I use for Longmen Grottoes?
Luoyang Longmen station, the high-speed stop on the Beijing–Xi'an line, is the closest and the one to book. Luoyang station serves conventional trains farther from the grottoes. From Xi'an North the ride is around one and a quarter to one and a half hours.
How long should I allow at Longmen Grottoes?
Two to four hours covers the West Hill caves and the East Hill sights without rushing. The main grottoes including the Fengxian Temple sit on the West Hill; the East Hill adds Xiangshan Temple and Bai Garden across the river.
In what order should I visit Longmen Grottoes?
Start on the West Hill, which holds the main caves and the giant Vairocana Buddha at the Fengxian Temple, then cross the river to the East Hill for Xiangshan Temple and Bai Garden. The West Hill is the priority if time is short.
Related reading
Longmen is the third of the great cave groups — pair it mentally with the painted caves at Dunhuang and with Yungang in Datong, and practically with a Xi'an leg on the same high-speed line.
Compiled from the official Longmen Grottoes ticketing, opening-hour and site information, Luoyang Longmen high-speed rail schedules and recent visitor reports, cross-checked 30 September 2026. Ticket prices, opening hours, night-session availability and train times change with the season and official announcements — the figures in your own booking channel at the time you go are the authoritative version. Nothing on this page is travel or financial advice.