Yulin Caves

The Yulin Grottoes (Chinese榆林 窟, Pinyin Yulin ku, Yulin Grottoes English / Ten Thousand Buddha Gorge / Caves of the Myriad Buddhas ) 75 kms south-west of Anxi (安西县), that is, today's circle Guazhou (瓜州 县), Gansu Province, China, are Buddhist cave temples.

The site is also known under the name of "Ten Thousand Buddha Gorge " (万佛 峡, WànFóxiá, Wan Fo Hsia ), where " Ten Thousand Buddha Gorge " ( WanFoxia ) is to be understood as colloquial geographic location. The caves are carved on the western and eastern side of the valley in the rock, on the eastern shore there are thirteen caves, on the west bank of eleven.

The earliest date back to the time before the Tang Dynasty, probably late most of the time the Manchu dynasty. Most wall paintings and statues dating from the time of the Tang and the Song Dynasty and some from the era of the Western Xia (Xi Xia ) and Mongol period. In their structure and in their artistic style they resemble the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang.

The site was developed by Aurel Stein (1907 ) and Langdon Warner (1925, on the second Fogg Museum Expedition ) explored.

Since 1961 the Yulin Grottoes are on the list of monuments of the People's Republic of China ( 1-36).