Longmen Grottoes: tickets, hours and how to visit
2,300 caves and niches cut into a river cliff, 100,000 carved figures. Allow three hours; go at opening.
Longmen Grottoes at a glance
2,300 caves and niches cut into a river cliff, 100,000 carved figures. Allow three hours; go at opening. Plan on 3–4 hours walking the full west-to-east route. here, plus half an hour either side for entry, security and parking.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tickets | CNY 90 covering West Hill, East Hill, Xiangshan Temple and the White Garden. One ticket, one direction, no re-entry. |
| Opening hours | 08:00–18:30, last entry 17:30 (extended to 19:00 in peak season). |
| Time needed | 3–4 hours walking the full west-to-east route. |
| City | Luoyang, China |
What to see
Three things carry this sight. If you are short on time, do them in this order.
- Fengxian Templethe 17-metre Vairocana Buddha, the image of the site
- Wanfo Cave15,000 small Buddhas carved into one chamber
- Guyang Cavethe earliest inscriptions, dating the whole complex to AD 493
Tickets and booking
How the ticket works, and what foreigners usually get wrong.
Before you buy
- Price. CNY 90 covering West Hill, East Hill, Xiangshan Temple and the White Garden. One ticket, one direction, no re-entry.
- Booking. The route is one-way over 4 km: West Hill, then the river bridge, then East Hill, then out. People who start at the south gate walk it backwards and miss the Vairocana Buddha in good light. Also — West Hill faces east, so it is backlit in the afternoon; go in the morning to photograph it.
- Payment. Most Chinese sights take WeChat Pay or Alipay only. Cash works at staffed windows but not at self-service machines; a licensed guide can pay on your behalf and settle with you at the end of the day.
Getting there and when to go
12 km south of Luoyang, 25 minutes by car. The high-speed station (Longmen South) is 5 km away, so it works as a stop on the way in or out. Enter at the north-west service centre, not the south gate.
08:00–18:30, last entry 17:30 (extended to 19:00 in peak season).. The first hour after opening is the quietest — tour groups arrive around 09:30. Late afternoon gives better light but the main viewpoints start clearing people out, so shoot early if that is your priority.
Public transport reaches Longmen Grottoes, but connections and waiting times add up. With luggage, older travellers, or two sights in one day, a car and driver removes the guesswork.
The one thing that goes wrong
Luoyang local note
- The route is one-way over 4 km: West Hill, then the river bridge, then East Hill, then out. People who start at the south gate walk it backwards and miss the Vairocana Buddha in good light. Also — West Hill faces east, so it is backlit in the afternoon; go in the morning to photograph it.
Pairing Longmen Grottoes with
These are usually on the same day or the same trip.
Longmen Grottoes: questions travellers ask
How long do I need?
Is the night session worth it?
Can I get there from the high-speed station?
How booking works — three steps, itinerary before price
No deposit to get a plan, and nothing is locked in before you agree.
Send the brief
Dates, party size, how you arrive and what you want to see around Longmen Grottoes.
Get a route and a price
We order the stops by location and traffic, then quote per car per day with fuel, tolls and the driver included.
Confirm and travel
Only after you accept the route and the price do we assign the car and guide.
