Yungang Buddhist Caves, located at the foot of the Wuzhou Mountain, 16 kilometers from Datong City, is one of China's four most famous "Buddhist Caves Art Treasure Houses". Still extant today are 53 caves, which house over 51 thousand stone carvings. The magnificent carvings on a wide range of subjects, absorbing essence of both Chinese and foreign arts, have great artistic charm.
The largest Buddha statue enshrined at the center of Cave No.5 is 17 meters high. At either side of the Cave arch door, with fine relief sculpture of "Flying Apsaras" at the top, is a Buddha statue in sitting posture under the bodhi tree.
At the center of Cave No.6 is a sculptured 2-storeyed square pagoda, 16 meters high, with meticulously carved statue of Buddha on top, considered to be a masterwork in sculpture art. On the Cave walls and the four faces of the pagoda, are carved Jataka of Buddhism, on a grand scale, which, as a skillful work of art, is the essence of Yungang Grottoes. Cave No.6 is among the 5 "cloudy and Luminary Grottoes" that is the earliest in creation and most magnificent, with statues of Sakyamuni in various postures, and wearing different facial expressions.
Yungang Caves comprise 24 mini-caves housing four seated statues which are round-faced, thin-lipped and high-nosed with a background of beautiful patterns of flames, sitting Buddha etc.
The 5 "Cloudy and Luminary Caves", the first project of Yungang Caves were created in 460-465 A. D. The main carvings of Cave 16 are standing statues of Sakyamuni, 13.5 meters high, and with chin up and chest out. They, in robes or putting palms together in front of chest, have handsome looks or solemn expressions. They appear more like a gallant soldier than the usual image of Tathaga.
The Wuhua Caves: Located in the middle of Yungang Caves, they consist of Cave Nos. 9-13. Cave No.9 and Cave No.10 are of square structure, consisting of a front room and an inner room. The eastern and western walls of the front room and the door lintel of the inner room are carved with fine plant designs. Cave No.11 contains on the upper part of eastern wall, an epigraph on statues located in 95th area created in 483 A. D. On the northern and eastern walls of the front room in Cave No.12 , there are sculptured a three-bay house of imitated wooden structure and a shrine, and on the cave ceiling, carved female musicians, holding panpipe, pipa (a plucked string instrument with a fretted fingerboard), flutes, drums etc. Cave No.13 houses in the center, a cross-legged statue of Maitreya, 13 meters high, with his right arm supported by four vijrapanis. On the door arch of the south wall are carved 7 standing Buddha statues. The rich plastic arts of sculpture on Wuhua Caves are visual materials for study of arts, history, music, architecture etc.
Open-air Buddha Statue: Located in Cave No.20, with the front wall ruined in the Liao Dynasty, at the central-west corner of Yungang Caves, is a seated statue of Sakyamuni, 13.7 meters high, with a well-preserved hard-stone upper body, consisting of wide shoulders, a full face, thin lips and high nose etc., and a relief sculptured background of patterns of flames, sitting Buddha, Apsaras etc. It's a typical carving of Yangang Caves.
