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| Bingling Grottoes |
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The Bingling Grottoes, also known as the Bingling Temple, are a series
of Buddhist caves that are situated on a not easily accessible cliff
face, some 80km from Lanzhou.
Bingling is a transliteration of Tibetan, which means Ten Thousand
Buddha. At present, there are 183 caves, 694 stone statues, 82 clay
sculptures, and 900 square meters of murals. All the statues, sculptures
and murals exhibit superb craftsmanship, and have great artistic
appeal. These caves, which stretch for 200 meters, include the caves
of Western Qin, North Wei, Sui, Tang, and Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing
dynasties.
The first cave was built here in 420 AD, by daring Buddhists who
descended from the cliff on ropes to carve their masterpieces. Although
the cave complex was enlarged gradually over many centuries, it
is the work of both the Song (960-1279 AD) and the Ming (1368-1644
AD) Dynasties that remains most impressive. The temple was, in-
between these golden years, to become a Tibetan Monastery (in the
Yuan Dynasty, 1271-1368 AD).
Within and on the cliff are a series of winding walkways and stairs
that will lead you around the site. The caves, carved out of the
cliff's porous stone, contain over 700 statues, of both clay and
porous rock, and hundreds of frescoes. Of the statues, the largest
is a giant 27 meter-high seated Maitreya, the future Buddha, and
the smallest is a miniscule 25 centimeters. It is the lower caves
that are the most impressive. Cave 169 is considered to be one of
China's oldest grottoes, housing a faded Buddha and 2 Boddhisattvas.
This cave, in an area of 200 square meters, also holds the earliest
epigraph of any of China's caves.
Besides the temple, the journey itself is impressive, especially
within close proximity to the caves. The cliff face, 60 meters high,
is part of the northern side of a gorge formed by the Yellow River.
Below the caves themselves is the Liujiaxia Reservoir, that will
take a good three hours to cross, allowing you to enjoy at your
leisure the stunning scenes before you!
Between June (sometimes as late as July) and October, tourist boats
depart daily from the dam to Bingling Si, while during the winter
months the water level is too low for boats, and there is no access
by road. Staircases have been built onto the rock-face to make your
visit more convenient.
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