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It lies 40 km in the north west of Taiyuan. Having been a summer palace of Gaohuan, the father of Gaoxiang who was the emperor of the Beiqi Dynasty. Tianlong Mountain, another name of Fangshan is 1700 meters above the sea level. Tianlong Grottoes was built in the Dongwei Dynasty (531-550). After Gaohuan started to chisel the Grottoes, his son Gaoxiang continued, and then, it was chiseled in the Sui and Tang Dynasties time and again. Especially in Tang Dynasty, the construction came to the high speed and level. The sculpture skill in the Tang Dynasty was much precious and really true to life. For instance, in the upper part of the ninth grotto Manshange built in the Tang Dynasty, the sitting statue of Maitreya Buddha about 8 meters in high is the finest to be preserved among the grottoes of Tianlong mountain. The Guanyin standing statue in the lower part of it, 11 meters high is the cream of stone-carvings. Tianlong Mountain covered with pines and cypresses adds another splendid view for this spot.
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