Yungang Stone Cave

Yun-gang Stone Cave Overview

One of the most fascinating, singular sites in the Shanxi province is the Yungang cave system. Located near the city of Datong at the base of the Wuzhou Shan Mountains, these caves are recognized by the United Nations as a world heritage site. Construction on the site began in 460 C.E. with the aim of creating a monastery and a testament to the Buddha. It took decades for the stone caves to be carved out and for the religious icons to be created. The final result was astounding: there are 252 grottoes total (which are commonly grouped together into fifty-two caves), with more than 51,000 Buddha carvings and statues, ranging from thumb-sized pieces to one fifty-six foot tall giant.

The caves are, for the most part, in extremely good physical condition. Many caves still possess layers of paint. In addition to the surviving Buddha and Bodhisattva statues, there is a well-preserved frieze that runs through many of the caves. This frieze tells in relief the story of the life of Siddhartha Gautama and how he attained awakening and became the Buddha.

Although in many ways the site has been remarkably well-preserved, it still has suffered an understandable amount of weathering and erosion given its incredible age. The front wall has eroded completely in many places, leaving the Buddhas exposed to open air; some of the larger statues are visible from a distance.

Foreign artifacts have also found their way into the caves over the centuries. Weapons and lion statues from Persia and Byzantium, tridents and curling acanthus leaves from Greece, draperies and head dresses from India are all present inside the grottoes. There are even statues from other religious tradtions: one cave features Vishnu sitting on top of a bull, Shiva, and an unidentified guardian wielding a trident.