A researcher's never ending quest for Longmen

Updated: 2015-08-19

It's the 16th year for Lu Wei to continue working at the Longmen Grottoes Research Institute.

"Hanzhong in Shaanxi province is my hometown. I came to work here in 1998 after graduating from Northwest University with a major in archaeology. That probably was the start of my destiny with Longmen," says Lu, now the chief of Longmen Grottoes Research Institute's research center.

Lu Wei, research center chief of Longmen Grottoes Research Institute, works on a manuscript of Longmen History at his office. [Photo/Longmen Grottoes on WeChat]

Lu maintains that the most impressive scene of Longmen etched in his memory was the first time that he saw the Losana Buddha statue. That was during the August of 1997, when he was visiting the Longmen Grottoes with his fellow students from university. The moment he was standing on the stone stairs of Fengxian Temple and looking up at the sacred Buddha, a great feeling had shocked deep into his heart which lingered on for a long time.

Lu in front of the Losana Buddha [Photo/Longmen Grottoes on WeChat]