The explorer’s story is about 500 words!

The Yungang Grottoes are located on the north cliff of Wuzhou Mountain in the western suburbs of Datong City, Shanxi Province. The grottoes are carved into the mountain and stretch 1,000 meters from east to west. There are 45 main caves, 252 large and small niches, and more than 51,000 stone statues. It is one of the largest ancient grottoes in my country. According to documentary records, during the Heping Period of the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 460 to 465), a famous monk Tan Yao presided over the construction of five grottoes in Wuzhou Fortress, the western suburbs of Beijing (Pingcheng, today's Datong City). The existing caves from Yungang Cave 16 to Cave 20 was the earliest so-called "Tanyao Five Caves" excavated at that time. Most of the other major caves were completed before Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital to Luoyang in the 18th year of Taihe in the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 494).

Judging from the chronological inscriptions and artistic styles preserved in the grottoes, this magnificent art project is basically a relic of the Northern Wei Dynasty and has a history of more than 1,500 years. There are 53 existing caves and more than 51,000 stone statues. The tallest Buddha is 17 meters, and the smallest is only a few centimeters. The Yungang Grottoes are famous for their grandeur, rich content and exquisite carvings. The ancient geographer Li Daoyuan described it this way: "The mountain was carved out of stone. Because of the rock structure, it is really huge and strong, and rare in the world. It has a mountain hall, a water hall, and a smoke temple facing each other." This is a true portrayal of the grand scene of the grottoes at that time. While absorbing and drawing lessons from the Buddhist art of Gandhara in India, the Yungang Grottoes sculptures organically integrate the traditional Chinese artistic style and play a very important role in the history of world sculpture art. Today, it has become a tourist attraction admired and desired by Chinese and foreign tourists. The Yungang Grottoes are one of the three largest grotto groups in China and a world-famous art treasure house.

Among the dozens of caves in Yungang, Tan Yao Wu Cave was the earliest to be excavated and the most magnificent. The fifth and sixth caves and Wuhua Cave are rich in content, magnificent and magnificent, and are the essence of Yungang art.

Second Mogao Grottoes

Mogao Grottoes, also known as "Thousand Buddha Cave", is located at the foot of Mingsha Mountain 25 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang County. It is located in Mogao Township. Got its name. It is the largest and most famous Buddhist art grotto in my country. It is distributed on three or four levels on the cliff of Mingsha Mountain, with a total length of 1.6 kilometers. There are 492 existing grottoes, with a total mural area of ​​about 45,000 square meters and more than 2,100 colorful statues. The grottoes vary in size, and the statues vary in height. The large ones are majestic and thick, while the small ones are exquisite and exquisite. Their profound attainments and rich imagination are very amazing. The contents of the murals are mostly stories from Buddhist scriptures, such as the life of Sakyamuni and the stories of his good deeds and sacrifices in his previous lives.

There are also pictures of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, kings of heaven, strong men, small thousand Buddhas, feathered figures, flying figures, flowers and birds, animals, etc. Although the murals have been eroded by wind and sand for thousands of years, they are still brightly colored and have clear lines, which makes people admire the exquisite art and creative spirit of ancient art craftsmen.

"Dun" means great, and "huang" means prosperous. Because this place played a very important role in the development of the vast Western Region, it has been named "Dunhuang" since the Han Dynasty.

The Kai Grottoes were developed on a stone cliff high in the desert, so they were named "Mogao Grottoes". In ancient Chinese, "Mo" and "Mo" are interchangeable, and later they were called "Mogao Grottoes" .

Dunhuang is located at the westernmost end of the Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province. During the Spring and Autumn Period, it was called "Guazhou" because of its rich production of melons. In the Tang Dynasty, it was also called "Shazhou" because of the Mingsha Mountain in the south of the city. Since the Han and Tang Dynasties, business travel along the Silk Road has been frequent, and Dunhuang has become an important route out of the Western Regions and into Chang'an. Because it is located at the throat of the Silk Road, it can be said to be an important town. At that time, villages and docks were connected one after another, and chickens and dogs could hear each other. It was known in history as "the place where Huarong passed" A city." This was the first stop for Buddhism and its art to spread from the Western Regions to the East. Therefore, pagodas are everywhere and markets are prosperous. According to the literature, the Lantern Festival is second only to Chang'an, and its prosperity can be seen in general. White poplar and Xinjiang poplar are like blankets of chicken feathers and are the most obvious plant landscape in Dunhuang.

Third place Yulin Grottoes

Yulin Grottoes, commonly known as Wanfo Gorge, is located on the bank of Yulin River (also known as Tashi River) 75 kilometers southwest of Anxi County. There are 42 caves from the dynasties of Yulin, Xixia, Yuan and other dynasties, distributed on the cliffs on the east and west banks of the Yulin River, 31 on the east cliff and 11 on the west cliff, with 4200 square meters of murals and 259 painted sculptures. Due to natural and man-made reasons, very few of the original painted sculptures in Yulin Grottoes remain, and most of the existing painted sculptures have been renovated or reshaped by future generations.

As the sister cave of Mogao Grottoes, the Yulin Grottoes are closely related or similar to the Mogao Grottoes in terms of content, artistic style, production of colored sculptures and murals, but in many aspects There are obvious differences in aspects, and they have their own unique artistic style. Especially after the Five Dynasties, the art of Mogao Grottoes showed an obvious trend of decline, while Yulin Grottoes showed its characteristics of the times and unique artistic charm in terms of content, painting style, and artistic level, thus further enriching this The connotation of the treasure house.

In 1961, the Yulin Grottoes were listed as the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council and placed under the jurisdiction of the Dunhuang Cultural Relics Research Institute.

The fourth place is Longmen Grottoes

Longmen was called Yique in ancient times. After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it was generally called Longmen. It is still used today. It is located 12.5 kilometers south of Luoyang City. The green mountains here are towering, the east and west face each other, and the Yishui River flows from the middle to the north. It is one of the three treasures of Buddhist art in my country that is famous both at home and abroad. The statues of Longmen Grottoes are densely dotted on both sides of the Yishui River and on the cliffs of the east and west mountains.

The Longmen Grottoes were founded around the time when Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty moved the capital to Luoyang (494). After more than 500 years of large-scale construction in the Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi, Northern Zhou, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties and Northern Song dynasties, it made the Large and small caves are like honeycombs, densely distributed on the cliffs on both sides of the Yishui River, more than 1 kilometer long from north to south.

In terms of the history of its construction, there were two largest grotto-making activities. The three emperors Xiaowen, Xuanwu and Xiaoming of the Northern Wei Dynasty were the first, which lasted about 35 years; Taizong, Gaozong and Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty It was the second time with the Four Emperors of Xuanzong, covering more than 110 years. These two times were the climax of the creation of caves and statues, which lasted for more than 150 years. According to statistics from the Longmen Civil and Military Preservation Institute in 1962: there are more than 2,100 cave niches and more than 100,000 statues in the two mountains. The largest statue is more than 17 meters high and the smallest is only 2 centimeters; there are about 3,600 statue inscriptions and tablets, and more than 40 pagodas. seat. The statues of the Northern Wei Dynasty account for one-third, all of which are located in Xishan. The representative caves are Guyang Cave, Binyang Cave, Lotus Cave, Grotto Temple and Weizi Cave. The statues of the Tang Dynasty account for almost two-thirds, and most of them are also located on the west mountain. During the period of Wu Zetian, they were moved to the east mountain. The most representative caves are Qianxi Temple, Fengxian Temple, Ten Thousand Buddhas Cave, Kanjing Temple, etc. Longmen Grottoes occupies a very important position in the history of sculpture art. The huge statues are typical of oriental sculpture. In particular, the flying apsaras in the grottoes are soaring freely in the flowing clouds, holding holy fruits and flying in the sky, playing music and singing, or scattering flowers and rain. Their light postures and elegant expressions are breathtaking. Among the inscriptions and inscriptions of the Longmen Grottoes, the famous Longmen Twenty Pieces and the "Stele of the Yique Buddhist Niche" written by the famous calligrapher Zhu Suiliang of the Tang Dynasty are both treasures of our country's calligraphy art. In 1961, the State Council announced it as the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

Longmen Mountain has beautiful green waters and has been a tourist attraction since ancient times. Scholars of the past dynasties have written hundreds of poems describing the scenery of Longmen, including Li Bai, Bai Juyi, Ouyang Xiu and many other famous poets. Bai Juyi, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, once said: "The most beautiful scenery among the four fortresses of Luoyang is Longmen." "Longmen Mountain Package" has always been known as the first of the eight scenic spots in Luoyang. Today's Longmen is full of green cypresses and lush green mountains. Flowing springs and waterfalls are a spectacle. In 1962, the majestic Longmen Bridge was opened to traffic. It flies across the mouth of Longmen and spans the Yishui River. It is like a rainbow lying on the waves, which adds luster to the water and mountains of Longmen and embellishes the mountains and rivers more beautifully. Longmen is using it Its beautiful mountains and waters and numerous historical relics have won praises from Chinese and foreign people and attracted many Chinese and foreign tourists to visit.

Fifth place Maijishan Grottoes

Maijishan Grottoes, located in Maijishan about 40 kilometers south of Tianshui City, is one of the four largest grottoes in China. It was first built in the Later Qin Dynasty of the Sixteen Kingdoms, and has been repeatedly renovated and rebuilt by subsequent generations for more than 1,500 years. There are 194 cave niches, more than 7,200 statues, and more than 1,300 square meters of murals. It is especially famous for its clay sculpture art and is known as the "Oriental Sculpture Art Museum". In 1961, it was listed as a national key cultural relic protection unit by the State Council.

Maiji Mountain is named after its shape that resembles a stack of wheat. The grottoes were excavated on the cliff and were originally connected to each other. During the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, the local earthquake caused the grottoes to be divided into east and west cliffs, with the middle part Destroyed.

There are 140 caves and niches on the west cliff, mainly works from the Western Qin, Northern Wei and Western Wei Dynasties; there are 54 caves on the east cliff, and most of the works from the Northern Zhou, Sui and Tang Dynasties and later periods are concentrated here. Most of the Maijishan Grottoes are works before the Sui and Tang Dynasties, among which the Seven Buddha Pavilion, Ten Thousand Buddhas Cave, Niuer Hall, and Silent Tomb are the most famous ones. Cave 4 was built in the Northern Zhou Dynasty and is also known as the Shangqi Buddha Pavilion. It is the most exciting cave in Maiji Mountain. The five groups of flying apsaras on the eyebrows of niches 1-5 in the cave are the only works in ancient my country that combine painting and sculpture. They are not only rich in three-dimensionality and realism, but also have ethereal and elegant characteristics. They are indeed the best among grotto art works. system. The murals in Cave 127 rank first among the Maijishan Grottoes. The Vimalakirti Sutra paintings are magnificent and sophisticated in technique. They are considered to be the origin of Vimalakirti's large-scale Sutra paintings in later generations. The cave also contains the largest, earliest and most complete Western Pure Land murals in my country, as well as works with local themes such as King Zhou Mu's visit to the Queen Mother of the West. The clay sculptures of the Maijishan Grottoes pay attention to conveying the spirit through form, and have both spirit and form. They are rich in the flavor of life and have a strong secular tendency. The Maiji Mountain area has always been a tourist attraction in Longshang due to the beautiful beauty of the Jiangnan water town.

Sixth Bingling Temple Grottoes

Bingling Temple Grottoes is located 80 kilometers southwest of Lanzhou and is a cultural treasure on the Silk Road. After you take a boat to browse the Liujiaxia Reservoir, where the vast expanse of blue waves and water and sky are the same color, you can see the Bingling Temple Grottoes to the west on the overhanging rocks of the reservoir. The grottoes have 34 caves, 149 Buddhist niches, 800 stone and clay sculptures, and 900 square meters of murals.

It was created in the first year of Jianxian of the Western Qin Dynasty (around 420 AD) and was a major Buddhist resort in the Ming Dynasty. Among them is a seated Buddha sculptured on the rock wall, which is 27 meters high. The sculpture is lifelike and lifelike, fully demonstrating the superb skills of the art craftsmen of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

"Tangshu Cave" ("Ghost Cave" in Qiang language) is the earliest and largest cave among the many Dongting Lake caves in Bingling Temple. Most of the murals in the cave are Buddhist teachings and portraits of worshippers. They have strong and straight brushstrokes and smooth lines. They have distinctive cultural heritage of Xigui. It is a key cultural relic protection unit in the country.

The seventh place is the Xiangtang Temple Grottoes

The Xiangtang Temple Grottoes are located in Xinshi District, Handan City, Hebei Province. All have been added to and repaired. Xiangtang Temple is divided into two caves, the north and the south, 15 kilometers apart. There are 16 caves and 3,400 large and small statues. The stone carvings in the cave are exquisite and cleverly conceived. Its ancillary buildings are large in scale, and the palaces, pavilions and pavilions are built against the mountain. They are magnificent and magnificent. They are precious heritage of ancient Chinese architecture, sculpture, calligraphy and painting art.

The Beixiangtang Temple Grottoes are located on the middle of Gushan Mountain in Xinshi and to the east of the village. They are built between high cliffs and are divided into three groups: south, north and middle. Among them, there is a worship hall eaves pavilion in front of the Sakya Cave in the middle group, which looks like a pavilion. There are two tall heavenly kings carved on each side of the cave. There are 151 Buddha statues in the Big Buddha Cave. The Buddha sitting on the altar is nearly 4 meters high and solemn. Honest and majestic, the Sutra Carving Cave is named after the scriptures engraved on the inner and outer walls. It is a natural treasure house for studying calligraphy and Buddhist history.

At the foot of Beixiangtang Mountain is the ruined site of Changle Temple, with two remaining stone scripture buildings from the Song Dynasty. There is a flat octagonal ancient pagoda in front, which looks like nine floors but is actually five floors. It is the eye-catching symbol of the Xiangtang Temple Grottoes.

The Nanxiangtang Temple Grottoes are located at the southern foot of Gushan Mountain, north of Xizhifang Village, and on the north bank of the Fuyang River. There are seven grottoes built along the mountain, divided into upper and lower floors. Among them, Huayan Cave is the largest, with a height of 4.9 meters and a width and depth of 6.3 meters. There are 1,228 Buddha statues in total. It is named after the "Huayan Sutra of Dafang Guangfo" engraved in the cave; Thousand Buddha Cave is the best preserved,* There are 1,028 Buddha statues in the cave. The cave walls are lined with Buddha statues. The ceiling of the cave is covered with flying sky reliefs, which are vivid, exquisite and elegant. In front of the cave area, there are the main hall, side halls and pavilions built in the Qing Dynasty. There is also a Song Pagoda in the southwest of the cave area. The palace, pagoda and grottoes stand in harmony with each other and stand in the green mountains, which is very spectacular.

The Xiangtang Temple Grottoes have a unique position in the history of the development of Chinese grotto art. It is the connecting point between the two grotto art styles of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

The eighth Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves

The Kizil Grottoes (or Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves) are located in Kizil, Baicheng County, adjacent to Kuqa Mingwutag Mountain in the township, the cave is carved on the cliff on the north bank of the Muzat River Valley. It is 73 kilometers away from Kuqa in the west and 67 kilometers away from Baicheng in the east. It is the earliest large-scale grotto group excavated in my country and the most westerly located in the country. It was started in the third century AD (the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty). It was at its peak in the fifth to seventh centuries. It gradually stopped at the end of the eighth century. Its longevity is unique among other countries in the world. of.

The Kizil Grottoes and the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang share the reputation of China's "Four Major Grottoes". However, the Kizil Grottoes are the earliest grottoes excavated in the country. They were built in the 3rd century AD, earlier than the Mogao Grottoes. There are 236 numbered caves in existence, of which 135 are complete in shape and 80 have murals. The total area of ​​murals is more than 10,000 square meters. Its unique cave shape and murals can represent the level of Kucha culture and are of high research value. In 1961, it was listed as one of the first batch of key cultural relics protection units in the country.

The ninth Gongxian Grottoes Temple

The Gongxian Grottoes Temple is another great treasure house of Buddhist art in the Northern Wei Dynasty after the Longmen Grottoes. It is located about 55 kilometers northeast of Luoyang, Kyoto, on the stone wall at the foot of Dali Mountain in the eastern section of Mang Mountain. With the Yellow River at its back, it faces Yiluo. It has beautiful mountains and rivers, luxuriant forests and lush bamboos. It has been one of the famous tourist attractions in Luoyang since ancient times. The Grotto Temple was originally named Xixuan Temple and is a majestic building complex. Grotto carving began during the Jingming reign of Emperor Xuanwu (Yuan Ke) (AD 500-503), and was rebuilt in the following Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi, Tang, Song, Jin, Ming, and until the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty. The sculptures of Buddha statues were mainly produced in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and more were continued in the Northern Qi and Tang Dynasties. The Grotto Temple has five grottoes, one Thousand Buddha niche, 255 small Buddha niches, three giant Buddhas on the cliff, 7,743 large and small grottoes, and more than 200 inscriptions.

Tenth place Bezikli Thousand Buddha Caves

Located on the cliffs on the west bank of the Mugou Valley in the middle section of the Flame Mountains, more than 40 kilometers southeast of Turpan, there are a total of 83 caves. , of which more than 40 remain with more than 1,200 square meters of murals. The earliest caves were excavated in the 6th century during the peak period of the Uighur Gaochang Kingdom in the mid-9th century. Both the statues and the murals were destroyed to varying degrees, partly for religious reasons and partly by 20th-century explorers.