Buddist Cave Temple Gongyi Temple

---

Hi All,

So yesterday we visited the Buddist Cave Temple in Gongyi City. Lonely Planet describes it as "a fascinating series of Buddist caves". After visiting I think it should be changed to "A very small series of Buddist caves"!

Yes we did it in around half an hour. So 4 1\2 hours on a bus to get there and back and a tourturous taxi ride in which I couldn't understand the taxi driver and he couldn't understand me, I feel he also ripped us of and wouldn't move on his price of 200 yuan.

The caves themselves were very pretty , but as with most religious carvings here, defaced. Most of the
Buddhas had heads missing, hands missing, both heads and hands missing or had had there faces just crudely smashed in. Some heads were in Japan so I can only asume that they were stolen during the Japanese occupation in the WWII. The caves were only discovered in 1997 so, again I'm assuming, they can't of been damaged during the Cultural Revolution, like so many at Luoyang but must of been damaged long ago.

Anyway enjoy the photos

Jah Bless

---