Located 16 kilometers (10 miles) west of Datong City, Yungang Grottoes is a complex of 45 grottoes carved into the cliffs of Wuzhou Mountain. It is a treasure trove of Buddhist carvings unrivaled in the world with a variety of more than 51,000 statues. Yungang Grottoes, together with Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Dunhuang Grottoes and Maijishan Grottoes in Gansu, are considered as the Four Greatest Buddha Grottoes in China.
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties (386 - 589), Buddhism found a receptive audience in China and the emperors of the Northern Wei, took Buddhism as the national religion to enforce their dominion. It resulted in a large amount of construction campaigns of Buddhist temples and grottoes. The construction of Yungang Grottoes began from that time.
Records indicate that construction of the present Cave Nos. 16 to 20 began during 460 to 465 and completed in 524 and these five are the finest examples of Yungang Grottoes. Other grottoes having been carved primarily around 494, and prior to Emperor Xiaowen of the Wei relocating his capital to today's Luoyang in Henan Province.
A range of caves wind a 1000-meter (3,280 feet) path with all sorts of Buddhist statues, continuous wall frescoes and intricate decorative cuttings. All these works present a blending result of both the traditional sculpture skills from China's early Qin (221 B.C.-206 B.C.) and Han (206 B.C. - 220 A.D) dynasties and the essence of Buddhist art at that time. It had a long-term influence on artistic development in the successive Sui (581 - 618) and Tang (618 - 907) dynasties.
The most representative works are a 17-meter-high (56 feet) statue of Sakyamuni in company with many Buddha, Bodhisattva and arhat statues in Cave No. 5 and an intricately carved two-storied quadrate pagoda in Cave No. 6.
Admission Fee:
CNY 60
Opening Hours:
8:00 to 17:00
Recommended Time for a Visit:
Two hours
Bus Route:
Take No. 4 bus at Datong Railway Station and transfer No. 3 bus at Xin Kaili
® All rights reserved
Sorry, No comments yet!