Recently, a tourist visiting the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan Province, was astonished by the sight of a large Buddha statue, which led to his jaw being dislocated. The tourism site responded by assisting the tourist in relocating his jaw, sparking widespread discussion and interest.
On May 4th, the topic of “Tourist at Longmen Grottoes Astonished by View, Jaw Dislocated” trended on social media platforms.
According to reports, on May 3rd, a visitor at the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang looked up to admire the seated Buddha statue of Vairocana in the grotto, expressing amazement which somehow led to the dislocation of his jaw.
Subsequently, the tourist, enduring the pain, sought help from volunteers at the rescue center within the tourism site.
Volunteers broadcasted a message to the tourists within the site, calling for any orthopedic doctors to proceed to the medical service counter at the Fengxian Temple to assist a tourist in need.
On the 4th, staff at the Longmen Grottoes responded to the incident by successfully relocating the tourist’s jaw.
Mainland Chinese netizens have been lively discussing the incident: “So someone really dislocated their jaw out of astonishment!” “Is this kind of thing really that exaggerated?!” “Was it the beauty of the scenery or the crowd that caused it?”
Public information indicates that Longmen Mountain on both banks of the Yi River in Luolong District of Luoyang City and the Longmen Grottoes on Xiangshan are one of China’s repositories of stone carving art, alongside the Mogao Grottoes, Yungang Grottoes, and Maijishan Grottoes, collectively known as the Four Great Grottoes of China.
Carved during the reign of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Longmen Grottoes underwent massive construction over more than 400 years during subsequent dynasties such as the Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, and Song Dynasty, spanning a length of 1 kilometer with 2,345 grottoes, over 100,000 statues, and more than 2,800 inscriptions. In 2000, it was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Previously reported by Chinese media, during holidays, the Longmen Grottoes attract large crowds of tourists. Some exquisitely carved Buddha statues have been unfortunate victims of frequent touching by visitors, leaving the statues darkened and shiny from constant contact.