Yungang
Grottoes, located at the foot of Wuzhou Mountain, 16 km west of Datong,
is one of China's largest grottoes and world-famous treasure-house of
arts and culture.
Yungang Grottoes were carved
during the Northern Wei Dynasty under the charge of a Buddhist monk named
Tan Yao as ordered by the emperor. The
grottoes extend one kilometer from east to west and consist of a series
of 53 caves. There are 1,100 niches with about 51, 000 statues, the largest
17 meters high and the smallest two centimeters.
There are
a number of Buddhist statues and decorative frescos in the Grottoes. One
seventeen-meter Buddha with down-cast eyes seems to gaze with penetrating
insight into the human heart as it wavers between good and evil. An extremely
rare statue of Shiva with eight arms and four heads is riding on a bull.
Many of the carvings combine traditional Chinese art forms with foreign
influences to create a unique style.
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