The Bodhidharma cave in Nanjing's Muyan Scenic Area, Jiangsu province, opens to the public on Aug 1. [Photo/xhby.net]

The Ancient Bodhidharma Cave Scenic Area at the Muyan Riverside Scenic Belt in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, opened to the public on August 1.

As one of the famous 48 scenic spots in Jinling (the name for Nanjing in ancient China), the Bodhidharma cave was built in honor of the Indian monk Damo, also known as Bodhidharma, the first person to bring Buddhism to China in AD 527. According to legend he rested in the cave when traveling to northern China along the Yangtze River in Nanjing 1,600 years ago.

There are 101 bronze statues of Bodhidharma with different expressions, set in 101 shrines in a three-layered natural cave on the slopes near Wumadu square. The 101 statues and seven reliefs in the scenic area were created by sculpture master Sun Jiabin and his son Sun Yu from 250 tons of bronze materials.

According to the Nanjing Price Bureau, the entrance ticket will be 30 yuan ($4.50) per person for the two-year trial period. The scenic area will open from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm in the peak tourism season from April to October, and will close at 5:00 pm during the off-season.