Yungang Grottoes
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How it came to be
The Northern Wei made Pingcheng, today's Datong in Shanxi, their capital and adopted Buddhism as the state religion. From the mid-5th century caves were cut into the sandstone cliffs of the Wuzhou hills about 16 kilometres west of the city. The first five caves were made by the monk Tan Yao.
The first phase lasted until 465. In a second phase from about 471 to 494 the court sponsored the twin caves and others. When the capital moved to Luoyang in 494, imperial support ended, and private patrons carried on until 525. The caves show Buddhist art from South and Central Asia meeting Chinese tradition.
There are 252 caves and niches and 51,000 statues. Under the Liao, ten temples were built in 1049-1060 to protect the main caves, but they burned some 60 years later. The wooden buildings in front of caves 5 and 6 date from 1621. The grottoes were inscribed in 2001.
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