Dafo Temple Grotto in Bin County – a world heritage site along the Silk Road

Dafo Temple Grotto in Bin County is situated at the foot of Qingliang Mountain in Dafo Temple Village to the west of downtown Bin County. Built into the mountain, Dafo Temple Grotto, a collective name for a group of grottoes, has over 130 grottoes scattered across a 400-meter-long cliff surface in a well-organized arrangement.

Built in the second year of the Zhenguan Period during the Tang Dynasty, Dafo Grotto, the largest of the group, is 34.5 meters wide and about 28 meters high at its opening and extends 18 meters into the mountain. Its main statues include a statue of Amitabha flanked by a statue of Bodhisattva to the left and by a statue of Mahasthamaprapta to the right.

Situated on the trunk of the north route of the Shaanxi section of the Silk Road, Dafo Temple Grotto in Bin County is one of the major temples built in the historical period when Buddhism thrived and is therefore of significant value to research into the spread of Buddhism by means of the famous trade route.