More than 160 experts in seven countries gathered at a two-day seminar on Chinese grottoes, which opened Thursday at the Mogao Grottoes in northwest China's Gansu province.

During the seminar, participates will discuss the art of Chinese grottoes, archaeological research in grottoes, the art of Buddhism and the Sino-foreign exchanges in this respect.

The research scope of the seminar is extensive and covers the Dunhuang, Longmen, Yungang and Maijishan grottoes in China and grottoes in India and central Asia.

Grottoes are man-made caves usually built on mountain cliffs and contain statues, frescos and architecture. The Chinese grotto has a history of more than 1,000 years and is a product of Buddhism and traditional Chinese culture.

China has grottoes in many parts of the country, including the Mogao Grottoes in northwest China's Gansu province, the Longmen Grottoes in central Henan province and a host of grottoes along the route of the ancient Silk Road in western China.

To protect these ancient grottoes, China has set up numerous research bodies and placed the grottoes on the state or provincial priority protection lists. Many foreign grotto lovers and researchers come to China for studying grottoes every year, noted a Chinese expert.

(Xinhua News Agency August 20, 2004)