Yungang Grottoes
✅ The Yungang Grottoes, a treasure of ancient Chinese art, stand in the western suburbs of Datong City, Shanxi Province. They are one of the largest treasure houses of stone cave art in China and an important part of the world cultural heritage. This magnificent group of grottoes is known for its exquisite carving skills, rich cultural connotations, and profound historical impact. The Yungang Grottoes were first carved in 460 AD and have been constructed and expanded through multiple dynasties including the Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, Northern Qi, Sui, Tang, Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming, and Qing, forming a grand and majestic art complex. Here, you can admire the perfect combination of various art forms such as Buddha statues, murals, and stone carvings, and feel the profoundness of ancient Chinese culture.
✅ The Yungang Grottoes are one of the largest grottoes in China and, along with the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, and the Maijishan Grottoes, are known as the four great grotto art treasures of China.
✅ Located 16 kilometers west of Datong City in Shanxi Province, at the southern foot of Wuzhou Mountain, the grottoes stretch about one kilometer from east to west, with a grand and magnificent presence and rich content: the tallest Buddha statue is 17 meters (located in the main shrine of Cave 5, the Sakyamuni Buddha) and the smallest is only 2 centimeters (located on the middle layer of the west wall in the antechamber of Cave 9), making it the largest grotto complex in China.
✅ There are currently 45 main caves, 252 small niches, and over 51,000 statues, representing the outstanding Buddhist grotto art of China from the 5th to the 6th century.
The development of the Yungang Grottoes can be divided into three periods:
1️⃣ The early period, the Tan Yao Five Caves (Caves 16-20), were supervised by the high monk Tan Yao. With their rigorous and unified layout design, they are classic masterpieces of the first peak period of Chinese Buddhist art and were inscribed on the World Heritage List in December 2001.
2️⃣ The middle period (Caves 1-15) was mainly constructed on a large scale by the royal family.
3️⃣ The late period, after Cave 20, was mainly constructed by the public. After the Northern Wei dynasty moved its capital to Luoyang, the history of the royal family's large-scale construction of Buddha statues at Yungang also came to an end.
The Yungang Grottoes have a profound historical heritage. With over 1500 years of history, if you also love history, Buddhist culture, Buddha statues, and ancient architecture, then a visit will certainly be worthwhile.
Yungang Grottoes, the world-famous treasure house of Buddhist art, are amazing. The scenic environment is very good. It is said that it used to be black coal ash. I don't know if it is true or false. Now the blue sky and white clouds, the air is fresh, and the experience of playing is excellent. The attitude of the service staff at the ticket gate needs to be improved.
It is worth going, shocking, but you must understand first, take the problem to visit, if you look blind, you will feel boring, you can also rent an electronic guide, the price is very high, the explanation is very detailed, not bad money, please a good tour guide will be more vivid and interesting
Visiting Yungang Grottoes is a must to explain, even if you have seen the "Millennial Grottoes to see Yungang" and "Yungang" documentary, the scene is still more corresponding and intuitive.
I saw it on May 2, although there are many people and cars traveling during the May Day holiday, and every time I see a grotto, I have to queue up, but the first time I see the grotto is still very shocking and excited. Listening to the rambling of the explainer, it seems to be back to the Northern Wei Dynasty of more than 1,600 [cost-effective] years ago.
World Cultural Heritage Site, National 5A Scenic Spot, Millennium History Precipitated, now watching so many people come to Datong to travel, thank everyone who paid for the construction of the big scenic spot that year, and feel proud and proud of having such a historical and humanistic landscape!
never expected that much experience I will get. this is very busy place on weekends and better to visit weekdays and spend at least 3-4 hours. you will be amused and it is better than many such places
Yungang Grottoes is really a super shocking art treasure! Every Buddha statue seems to be telling the story of a thousand years, so that people can not help but immerse themselves in this ancient and mysterious art temple. Special thanks to Wang Miaomiao's guide for her explanation. Her expertise really made me have a deeper understanding of Yungang Grottoes. Her explanation is vivid and interesting, making me feel the wisdom and ingenuity of ancient craftsmen. Like her hard work and professionalism! I hope more people can come to Yungang Grottoes to feel this unique beauty and charm. Wang Miaomiao's guide's explanation is really super! First of all, she has a deep understanding of the historical and cultural background of Yungang Grottoes, and every explanation can bring us rich knowledge and unique insights. She can express complex historical events and characters in simple and understandable language, so that we tourists can easily understand and immerse ourselves in the story. Second, the way of explanation is very vivid and interesting. She is adept at using metaphors and humorous language in various images, making boring historical knowledge lively and interesting for us to learn in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. Her explanations always resonate and interest us, so that we love and respect this ancient cultural heritage more. Finally, she also pays great attention to interaction with tourists. She patiently answers our questions, cares about our feelings, and often guides us to explore and discover the beauty of Yungang Grottoes. Her enthusiasm and professionalism made us feel extremely warm and moved, so that we have a deeper understanding and understanding of Yungang Grottoes.
The scenic spot is very good, but there is no obvious scenic spot entry prompt on the roadside. The scenic spot is also inside. I hope to add scenic spot signs and you can take a lot of wrong roads less.