Yungang Grottoes

UNESCO World Heritage Site (2001); National 5A Tourist Attraction · Datong, Shanxi

A kilometre of sandstone cliff west of Datong carved with some 252 caves and niches and more than 51,000 Buddhist statues, made between about 460 and 525 CE when Datong, then Pingcheng, was the capital of the Northern Wei dynasty. Commissioned by emperors and led at first by the monk Tanyao, the carvings blend Indian, Gandharan and Central Asian styles with Chinese forms and mark the first great flowering of Buddhist cave art in China. The open-air seated Buddha of Cave 20, its front wall long collapsed, is the site's icon; Cave 5 holds a 17-metre seated Buddha, and Caves 6, 9 and 10 still glow with painted reliefs of the Buddha's life, musicians and flying apsaras. A UNESCO World Heritage site since 2001, it is reached through a vast landscaped park and rebuilt temple.

Yungang Grottoes Scenic Area, Yungang District, Datong, Shanxi, China

Daily, roughly 8:30-17:30 in peak season and 8:30-17:00 in winter; last entry about an hour before closing.

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