Describe the cultural connections between India and China, particularly through Buddhism.

India and China share profound cultural connections through Buddhism, which spread from India to China around the 1st century CE via trade and pilgrimage routes. Chinese monks like Faxian and Xuanzang travelled to India to study Buddhist teachings. Indian monks such as Bodhidharma, Dharmakṣhema, and Kumārajīva carried Buddhist philosophy to China, creating lasting spiritual bonds despite being separated by the Himalayas.