Grottoes in Shaanxi

There are over thirteen surviving Buddhist grottoes in Shaanxi. The history of these grottoes, cliff inscriptions and wall sculptures can be traced back to the Northern Wei Dynasty. In the following one thousand years, they went through the North & South, Sui, Tang, Song, Jin and Ming dynasties. You can see the clear framework of the historic evolution by finding the most representative works in the important periods of the stone art history in China.

Yaowangshan Stone Inscriptions & Carvings
Situated in Yaozhou District east of Tongchuan City, Mount Yaowang abounds in age-old historic sites including the extremely precious stone inscriptions. The statues carved on the cliffs are scattered on the face of a 20-odd-meter long cliff southeast of the mountain. There survive seven grottoes, twenty three niches and forty three Buddhist statues, each ahs extremely high artistic value.

Zhongshan Grottoes
Zhongshan Grottoes is situated south of the foot of Mount Zhongshan, the construction of which started in Taihe reign of Eastern Jin Period in 366 and lasted for over 1,000 years before its completion. The grottoes have 18 caves, including five which are opened up and the largest which is located in the central portion of the cluster and called “10,000 Buddha Cave” for the 10,000 Buddha statues large or small it preserves. The grottoes are deemed to be second only to the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes and the world’s rarest of its kind by experts from home and abroad for its extremely high historic, artistic as well as scientific value.

Shihong Temple Grottoes
Shihong Temple Grottoes, also called Chuanzihe Grottoes, is situated on the north bank of Chuanzi River in Zhiluo town some 65 kilometers west of Fuxian County Yan’an City. Its construction began in Daye reign (605-617) of the Sui Dynasty and continued intermittently through a period of over 1,000 years from the Tang Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty before its completion. The grottoes enjoy world fame for its long history, large scale, numerous statues and exquisite carving skills.

Binxian Giant Buddha Temple Grottoes
Situated some 10 kilometers west of Binxian County Xianyang City, the Giant Buddha Temple Grottoes was first built during the Zhenguan Period in the Tang Dynasty. The temple now preserves the largest scale Buddhist grotto statues in Shaanxi Province. The grottoes, built on a 400-meter-long cliff, houses 446 niches, and 1980 large or small Buddha statues. A twenty meter high statue of Buddha sits against the cliff, possessing a distinctive Tang vogue, and is reputed as the biggest Buddha statue in Shaanxi along the Silk Road.

Shuiluan Temple Wall Sculptures in Lantian
Located at the foot of Wangshun Mountain in Puhua town about 10 kilometers east of Lantian County, Shuiluan Buddhist Temple has the largest scale, well preserved wall sculpture complex existing in China. Sculptured on the walls, beams and pillars in the temple are over 3,700 figures, animals and plants in nature, all vivid and lifelike, thus presenting a world of great vitality as well as embodying ancient craftsmen’s marvelous imagination and superb sculpturing skills.

Zhongshan Grottoes

Binxian Giant Buddha Temple Grottoes

Shuiluan Temple Wall Sculptures in Lantian