Best Travel In China | Yungang Grottoes In Shanxi Sheng

Best Travel In China | Yungang Grottoes In Shanxi Sheng. Buddhism came to China along the Silk Road from India within the early 400s. Within the Shanxi region of central China, the monk Tan Yao and different Buddhists began carving sculpture-filled caves round the capital town of Pingcheng (now Datong). Between 465 AD and 525, 45 caves, 252 shrines, and 51,000 sculptures were designed. The carvings span over one km along the facet of the mountain.

The walls of the caves are lined with sculptures of Buddha in several positions, though most feature the Sakyamuni, a young Buddha, in a very seated position. The sculptures vary in size from barely 2 centimeters to over seventeen meters high.

Though the carvings are exposed to the weather, they need been preserved by several efforts. The Liao Dynasty from 1049-1060 tried to correct some erosion. Additionally, when a hearth 1621, the Qing Dynasty rebuilt in depth elements of the sculptures. Lastly, the People's Republic of China list the grottoes as a key cultural web site to be protected by the govt. They need stopped illegal construction round the caves and saved several grottoes close to collapse. In 2001, the grottoes were made an UNESCO Site of World Heritage.