Maijishan Grottoes
麦积山石窟 · Maiji District, Tianshui, Gansu, China
A complex of caves cut into the cliffs of an isolated peak of purplish-red sandstone, with 194 surviving caves, more than 7200 sculptures and over 1000 square metres of murals; in 2014 it was inscribed on the World Heritage List as part of the Silk Roads site.
Know before you go
- Do not take photos or use flash inside the caves without permission
- do not touch the statues or murals
- do not push or crowd on the walkways
This article is Not yet verified. Please check official announcements for prices, opening hours and dates.
Stories & people
Stories & people
History
"Wheatstack Mountain"
In the name Maijishan, mai is a general word for grain and ji means "stack" or "mound"; the name is generally thought to come from the peak's resemblance to a heaped-up stack of grain, which is why it is often translated as "Wheatstack Mountain". The whole mountain is made of purplish-red sandstone, and the caves are cut into its sheer cliff face.
Source: Wikipedia: Maijishan Grottoes
History
Tanhong and Xuangao settle here
Sometime between 420 and 422, a monk named Tanhong came to Maijishan and founded a small monastic community; legend says he had lived in Chang'an and fled here to escape war. A few years later the senior monk Xuangao arrived with 100 followers; both are recorded in the Memoirs of Eminent Monks, and their community eventually grew to 300 members.
Source: Wikipedia: Maijishan Grottoes
History
Du Fu's "Mountain Temples"
In 734, a severe earthquake struck the region. About 25 years later the Tang poet Du Fu visited and wrote the poem "Mountain Temples", generally thought to describe Maijishan; it opens: "There are few monks left in these remote shrines, / And in the wilderness the narrow paths are high."
Source: Wikipedia: Maijishan Grottoes
Culture
Culture & customs
Background
The Maijishan Grottoes are in Maiji District of Tianshui, Gansu, at the northern foot of the western Qinling Mountains, close to the east–west road from Xi'an through Lanzhou to Dunhuang and the road running south from Xi'an to Chengdu. The caves are cut into a cliff face 30 to 80 metres above the ground: caves 1–50 are on the western cliff and caves 51–191 on the eastern cliff, numbered by the archaeological team of 1952–1953. Work on the grottoes probably began under Yao Xing of the Later Qin (384–417), and construction and restoration continued over 12 dynasties: the Later Qin, Northern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing; the earliest dated inscription is from 502. Nearly all the statues are made of clay, and the sandstone of the few stone sculptures is not local. The Northern Wei caves are simple, mostly a seated Buddha flanked by bodhisattvas and disciples; Northern Zhou statues are more solid and massive, and in the Sui the figures take on softer tribhanga poses; major Song restorations shifted the emphasis from the Buddha to the bodhisattvas; in the mid-Ming the two huge triads on the eastern and western cliffs were repaired. In 2014, the Maijishan Grottoes were inscribed on the World Heritage List together with other sites on the eastern Silk Road, as part of "Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor".
Local customs
- Follow the cliff walkways from cave to cave on the eastern and western cliffs
- see the two great groups of statues, the seated Maitreya with two attendant bodhisattvas on the southeast cliff and the standing Buddha triad on the southwest cliff
- compare how statue styles changed from dynasty to dynasty
- climb up for a view of the isolated peak and the green hills around it.
Etiquette & taboos
Etiquette & taboos
Don’t DON'T
- Do not take photos or use flash inside the caves without permission
- do not touch the statues or murals
- do not push or crowd on the walkways
Locals appreciate DO
- Move one way along the walkways in an orderly line
- if you are afraid of heights, know your limits
- wear non-slip shoes
Plan your visit
Practical info
Travel tips
- A visit takes about half a day, and ticket prices are as officially announced by the scenic area. The walkways are built high on the cliff, so wear non-slip shoes, and on rainy days check the scenic area's opening announcements.
- From downtown Tianshui, take a bus to the Maijishan scenic area
- you can also take a train from Lanzhou or Xi'an to Tianshui and then transfer to a bus. Spring and autumn, with their mild climate, are the best seasons to visit
- in summer the hills are green
- in winter, the grottoes and the isolated peak after snow have a charm of their own.
Photos
Photos
Tgasrio · CC0 1.0
MarsmanRom · CC BY-SA 3.0
Sources & verification notes
More in China
Also nearby
Cantonese dim sum
'One pot, two pieces': a pot of tea with two dim sum — Guangzhou mornings begin in the teahouse.
Butter tea
A highland drink churned from tea, butter and salt — the first cup a Tibetan home offers a guest.
Nanjing salted duck
'Jinling's duck dishes are the best in the land': dry-cured, brined and simmered, with pale skin and tender meat.