Yungang Grottoes

Common card · No. 293110

The Yungang Grottoes (simplified Chinese: 云冈石窟; traditional Chinese: 雲岡石窟; pinyin: Yúngāng shíkū), formerly the Wuzhoushan Grottoes (Chinese: 武州山 / 武周山; pinyin: Wǔzhōushān), are ancient Chinese Buddhist temple grottoes built during the Northern Wei dynasty near the city of Datong, then called Pingcheng, in the province of Shanxi. They are excellent examples of rock-cut architecture and one of the three most famous ancient Buddhist sculptural sites of China, along with Longmen and Mogao. The site is located about 16 km west of the city of Datong, in the valley of the Shi Li river at the base of the Wuzhou Shan mountains. The grottoes were excavated in the south face of a sandstone cliff about 2,600 feet long and 30 to 60 feet high. They are an outstanding example of Chinese stone carvings from the 5th and 6th centuries CE. There are 53 major caves, along with 51,000 niches housing the same number of Buddha statues. Additionally, there are around 1,100 minor caves. A Ming dynasty-era fort...

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