Qian Fo Kan will become a new attraction for tourists when it finishes renovation in October.

Shi Long Cave, or Stone Dragon Cave, famous for its Qian Fo Kan (Shrine of 1,000 Buddhas), is getting spruced up and will be ready to welcome visitors for the National Day holiday.

The site, dating back more than 900 years, is so named because it looks like a huge stone dragon on the south slope of Jiangtai Mountain by the West Lake, Hangzhou.

For years there was only a footpath created by tourists on the south side of Jiangtai Mountain. Weeds were knee-high, the stones near the site were covered with lichen.

The project involves cleanup and laying a wide and convenient path for visitors. It is part of the reconstruction and environmental clean-up of the entire West Lake area.

Construction of the Shi Long Cave area began in 1101 in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1277). It contains three Buddhist shrines, and Qian Fo Kan is on the left.

Qian Fo Kan is now considered southern China's only preserved Buddha shine that overwhelmingly depicts Buddhist subjects. It looks like the mini Longmen Grottoes in Henan Province and the Yungang Grottoes in Shanxi Province - both are world heritage sites and among the most famous in China.

Experts consider the cultural value of Qian Fo Kan to be equal to that of Longmen and Yungang grottoes. This type of shrine is common in northern areas but very rare in the south.

There are caves and niches, inscriptions, pagodas and Buddhist images at the site. It is an impressive collection of Chinese art from the Wuyue Kingdom during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (AD 907-979) in southern coastal China.

Building Qian Fo Kan is considered the result of a dream of the Emperor Qian Liu (AD 852-932). Emperor Qian was the founder of the Wuyue Kingdom.

He was born in what is now Hangzhou and was skilled with bow, arrow and spear. He also had some knowledge of drawing. He grew up with distaste for ordinary occupations and took to salt smuggling.

In AD 875 he volunteered to help put down a local rebellion. Later he inflicted a severe defeat upon Huang Chao's forces, killing his general and taking a large number of prisoners.

The Qian family had been providing military leaders to the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) since AD 887. In AD 898, Qian Liu received an engraved iron plaque, exempting him from the death penalty on nine possible occasions, this giving him liberty to be a ruthless warrior. He was named the King of Yue in AD 902, and the King of Wu two years later.

When the Tang Dynasty fell in AD 907, Qian declared himself to be the king of Wuyue in today's Hangzhou area. The Tang emperor presented him with a jade tablet and a golden seal, which authorized his rule.

Under Qian's reign, Wuyue prospered economically and freely developed its own regional culture that continues to this day. The Qian Fo Kan is part of that culture.

Qian developed the coastal kingdom's agriculture, built seawalls, expanded Hangzhou, dredged rivers and lakes and encouraged sea transport and trade.

As Qian was dreaming of being the ruler of all China, not only Wuyue, he ordered that Qian Fo Kan be created, looking like one of the Buddha shrines in the north.