About the Grottoes

Yungang Grottoes, located on the southern foot of Wuzhou Hill, some 16 kilometers west of Datong, are known as one of the three major cave complexes in China, with the other two being the earlier Mogao Grottoes at Dunhuang in Gansu and the later Longmen Caves at Luoyang in Henan.

The Grottoes, sprawling for over a kilometer, are numbered from east to west. Grottos No. 5-20 in the central zone are the most glorious part of the whole complex. Grotto No. 5 contains the biggest, seventeen meters tall, Buddha sculpture, screened by a four-story wooden facade from the Qing Dynasty. Grotto No. 6 depicts the life of Sakyamuni, from the day of his birth up to the time of his achieving Buddha-hood. Grottos No. 16-20 are the earliest of the Yungang Grottos. Sculptures inside these five caves symbolize the five Northern Wei rulers.

History

During the later period known as the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Datong used to be the capital of the Northern Wei (368-534) until 494. (Thereafter, the capital was moved to Luoyang in Henan.) The construction of the Yungang Grottoes started between 460 and 465 with the support of Emperor Wencheng, and basically stopped with the capital relocation. The first five caves were excavated under the auspices of a well-known monk Tan Yao. More than 1000 caves, big and small, were completed in total. Over 10,000 labors were involved at the peak of the construction.

Today, more than 1,500 years later, Yungang Grottoes still boast over 1,100 different size shrines and niches and about 50,000 sculptures of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

A Cultural Relic

Yungang Grottoes combine traditional Chinese art forms with foreign influences to create a unique style that occupies an important place in the history of Chinese art and it is renowned as China's historical treasure and representation of China's ancient civilization.

Grottoes Get Well Protection

Over the past 1500 years since its completion, it has undergone many times of wars and natural damages that caused big ruins to the grottoes. After the founding of new China, Chinese government attached great importance to the protection of the Yungang Grottoes. A special protection institution was set up in 1995 and in 1961; the State Council listed Yungang Grottoes as key cultural unit under its protection. From 1973 to 1976, under the guidance of Premier Zhou Enlai, China injected a huge sum of money for the consolidation of the grottoes and in recent 10 years, Datong municipal government intensified its efforts to protect the grottoes. Yungang Grottoes was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2001.   (ctrip.com)