Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
The Most Beautiful Grottoes here has listed the 6 of the most beautiful grottoes in China as follows; each of them is charming and beautiful in China and you will have different feelings towards different but magnificent grottoes.
Mogao Grottoes
Mogao Grottoes also called Thousand-Buddha Cave, located precipice at on the east foot of the Mingsha Hill. The total number of Mogao Grottoes is 492 in which there are over 2,800 sculptures and 45,000 square meters of murals. There are five grottoes with a wooden structure. The Mogao Grottoes is the largest, oldest and the best-preserved Buddhist grottoes with the richest contents in the world today.
The construction of the Mogao Grottoes began in the period of the Sixteen Kingdoms (about 366 A.D.), and the endeavor continued through the later dynasties, including the North Dynasty, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Western Xia and Yuan. Today, the grand dimension of the site is shown by 735 caves, with murals covering 45,000 square meters and colored clay statues 2,415 square meters. It is the largest and richest extant treasure house of Buddhist art in the world. And in December 1987 the Mogao Grottoes have been included into the World Cultural Heritages by the UNESCO.
Yungang Grottoes
Yungang Grottoes is one of the biggest Grottoes in China, which is one of the four famous grottoes with Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, Luoyang Longmen Grottoes and Mount Maiji Grottoes.
It is one of World Culture Sites. Located about 16 km southwest of the city of Datong , Yungang Grottoes, mainly constructed between 460-525 AD during the Northern Wei dynasty, represent exceptional feat of Buddhist cave art in China in the 5th and 6th century. It has got a total number of major 45 grottoes consisting of more than 51,000 Buddha statues and statuettes. The fusion of Buddhist religious symbolic art from central and south Asia with Chinese cultural tradition is the noted highlight of the site. Yungang Grottoes have been quite successful in vividly illustrating the power and endurance of the Buddhist belief in China. It is a must see destination for you if you are the one who loves to explore the architectural brilliance of the world.
Longmen Grottoes
The Longmen Grottoes is one of the carved stone in China, which is national AAAA scenic spot, located 12km south of present day Luoyang . Carving began in the 5th century when the Wei dynasty moved its capital from Datong (where they created the famous Yungang Groto) to Luoyang. At this time, Chinese Buddhism was reaching its first peak, and the emperor was a pious believer. Carving continued after the Wei dynasty and the Tang Dynasty witnessed the second peak of Buddhist belief. There are over 2100 niches, more than 100,000 statues, some 40 pagodas and 3600 tablets and steles in the caves of Guyang, Binyang and Lianhua. Along with the Mogao Caves and Yungang Grottoes, the Longmen Grottoes are one of the three most famous ancient sculptural sites in China.
After 1,500 years, Longmen Grottoes is still magnificent. Its rich content reflects from different aspects the development and changes in ancient China’s politics, economy, religion and culture. It has contributed tremendously to the creation and development of Chinese grotto art.
Kizil Thousand-Buddha Caves
Kizil Thousand-Buddha Caves also called Kizil Caves or Heser Caves, Buddha caves of China. In 1961 it was listed as the first batch of national important cultural relic unit.6 km (37 miles) east of Baicheng County, the Kizil Thousand-Buddha Caves sit on the cliffs on the northern bank of the Muzat River. Carved from 3rd century to 9th century, the cave is the earliest Buddhist cave complex in China, even one century earlier than the famous Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang . Currently there are 236 coded caves in the Kizil, and the murals in the caves are reputed as “the most beautiful murals in Central Asia”.
Murals and other forms of Buddhist art found in the Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves showcase a splendid culture that once prospered in Kucha, an ancient oasis kingdom in what was known as the Western Regions in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220).
Dazu Rock Carvings
Dazu Rock Carvings were listed as a World Heritage Site in 1999. They provide outstanding evidence of the harmonious synthesis of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. Dazu Rock Carvings is 160 kilometers to the west of Chongqing. Over 60,000 carved stone figures relating mainly to Buddhism are spread around 76 places. The content and craftsmanship are best at Beishan Hill and Baoding Hill. The art of Dazu, which emerged in the late Tang Dynasty (618- 907) and flourished in the Song Dynasty (960-1127), represents an important chapter in China cultural and religious history.
The Dazu rock carvings has made a significant contribution to artistic expression in China, taking into account a new realism and exaggeration in depicting the contrasts between good and evil, beauty and ugliness.
The Maiji Grottoes
The Maijishan Grottoes is one of China’s four big grottoes, and the other three grottoes are: the Longmen Grottoes, Yungang Grottoes and Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes. The Maijishan Grottoes is a national key cultural relic’s protection unit; it is also the world famous art treasure. The Maijishan located about 35 km southeast of TianShui city, Gansu province , and it one of Mountain of Qinling Mountains in the west of Xiaolong Mountain, with an elevation of 1742 meters, but the mountain is only 142 meters high from the ground. The shape of the mountain likes the wheat-rick, so people call it the Maiji Mountain which means wheat-rick in Chinese.
