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Address : 16 KM to the west of the city center of Datong, Shanxi Province, China |
Open Hours : Daily ( 8:00am - 5:00pm ) |
Time for Visit: 2.5 hours |
Ticket Price : RMB 60/p.p |
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| Introduction of The Yungang Grottoes: |
| The Yungang Grottoes is situated 16 kilometers to the west of the city center of Datong in Shanxi Province. It carved out of sandstone cliffs during 453-493 and now stretching 1,000 meters continuously from the east to the west, are one of the four famous grotto complexes in China together with the Dunhuang's Mogao Grottoes, the Luoyang's Longmen Grottoes and the Tianshui's Maijishan Grottoes. |
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Yungang Grottoes are well known in the world for their grandness, profound cultural inheritance and exquisite carving. Li Dao-yuan (466¡ª527), a famous geographer in the ancient China, the once said, ¡°The 53 grottoes, carved out of cliffs, are vivid, grand and rarely seen elsewhere; the mountain shrines and the waterside palaces coexist so harmoniously here.¡± That is a truly described the flourishing period of the place. |
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| Nowadays, there exist mainly 45 grottoes with 252 niches and 51,000 statues. particularly splendid are No.5 and No.6 grottoes, which are impressively detailed and awfully beautiful. What is most attractive is the 14-meter-high outdoor seated Buddha of Sakyamuni in No.20 grotto, its facial lines being soft and its eyes radiating vigor. However, due to the severe pollution from the surrounding areas, many statues are coated with coal dust and grime, which, to some extent, has reduced the beauty of the place. Anyway, it cannot be denied that Yungang Grottoes, as a good combination of Hindu Buddhist art and Chinese traditional art, still occupy an important position in the world's sculpture history. |
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