A Tour of the Silk Road Grottoes
The Silk Road once played an important role in the economic and cultural exchanges between the east and the west, and bequeathed a wealth of cultural relics. Grotto art is a magnificent part of this legacy. China's grottoes are mainly scattered along the Silk Road in Gansu Province. The Silk Road started at Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province. The South Grottoes, North Grottoes, Wangmugong Grottoes, Mount Xumi Grottoes and Shi'ergou Grottoes are found along the northern route, and the Mount Maiji Grottoes, Mount Daxiang Grottoes, Huagai Temple Grottoes, Shuiliandong Grottoes, Muti Temple Grottoes and Bingling Temple Grottoes are located on the southern route. These two routes met at Wuwei and went on to Dunhuang via Zangye and Jiuquan in the Hexi Corridor along the Yellow River. Along this stretch are the Yulin Grottoes, Mogao Grottoes and Western Thousand-Buddha Grottoes. Apart from the Mount Xumi Grotto in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, all the grottoes are in Gansu Province.
Art Tour of Dunhuang
The Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, are a treasure-house of ancient Chinese culture. In fact, a new academic discipline called "Dunhuangology" has emerged worldwide to cover studies of the paintings, sculptures and documents preserved in the grottoes.
Dazu Stone Sculptures
Located in Dazu County, Chongqing Municipality, the carving of the Dazu Stone Sculptures started in the early years of the Tang Dynasty, and continued into the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian figures can all be found here, mainly in the form of base-reliefs. The most famous statues are located on North Mountain, Mount Baoding, South Mountain, Mount Shizhuan and Mount Shimen. In 1999, the Dazu Stone Sculptures was put on the World Cultural Heritage list.
Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan Province
The Longmen Grottoes, extending for one km, are located on both banks of the Yishui River, 13 km south of Luoyang City, Henan Province. It is also an important
Longmen grottoes
Huashan murals
Cliff paintings
Leshan Giant Buddha
A kneeling terracotta warrior
Sanxingdui cultural relics
national scenic zone of mountains and rivers. The carving of the grottoes started in the Taihe reign period of the Northern Wei Dynasty (365-534) and the work, continued for 400 years, into the Tang Dynasty (618-907). There are 1,952 grottoes, 750 niches, more than 40 pagodas and over 100,000 Buddha statues of various sizes.
Huashan Mural Paintings
These paintings are found on a pyramid-shaped hill on the eastern bank of the Mingjiang River, 25 km from the county town of Mingxian County. They were executed by the ancient Zhuang tribe. The predominant color is red, and activities of this ethnic group.
Tibetan Cliff Paintings
These paintings are found in Lake Lamco and Nagri Prefecture, and Ranma Township in northern Tibet. They depict animals, plants, gods, sacrifices, herding, hunting, dancing, fighting, and so on. They are valuable materials for studying the development of Tibetan religion, and ancient nomadic economy, culture and art.
Yin Mountains Cliff Paintings
These cliff paintings are located in western Inner Mongolia. They can be divided into four types: the oldest ones dated from the New Stone Age to the Bronze Age, or the period of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties of the Central Plains; the second-oldest were executed by the Xiongnu nomads at a time equal to the period of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty to the Western Han Dynasty; the third-oldest betray Turkish characteristics of the time equal to the period of the Six Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty; and the most recent are relics of the Dangxiang and Mongolian tribes, and were executed over a period of time equal to that from the Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty.
God Hill Cliff Paintings
About two km north of Daligaigou in the Urad Rear Banner of Inner Mongolia, there stands a steep hill with a flat top. The locals regard it as a sacred spot, hence the name "God Hill." On the northern slope of the hill, there are many jagged rocks with grotesque shapes which bear ancient cliff paintings of animals, horse riders, carriages, dances and a star map.
Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the Qin Dynasty
The terracotta warriors and horses were found 40 km east of Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province. They were buried in a series of pits to guard the mausoleum of the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty, China's first unifier. The three pits so far excavated are 1.5km from the tomb. The first pit has over 6,000 life-size terracotta warriors and horses, arranged in 38 rows of troops; the second pit has more than 1,000 terracotta warriors and horses; and the third pit 66 terracotta guards. This discovery has been dubbed the "eighth wonder of the world."
Leshan Giant Buddha
The Leshan Giant Buddha is located on the west slope of Mount Lingyun, on the eastern bank of the Minjiang River near Leshan City, Sichuan Province. At 70.7 m high and 24 m wide at the shoulders, it is the biggest Buddha statue in China. The project started in the first year (713) of the Kaiyuan reign period of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty and was finished in the 19th year (803) of the Zhenyuan reign period of Emperor Dezong of Tang. The Mount Emei-Leshan Scenic Zone was put on the World Cultural and Natural Heritage list by the UNESCO in 1996.
Sanxingdui
Sanxingdui, located in the suburbs of Guanghan City, Sichuan Province, is famous for the 5,000-year-old ruins of the capital of the Kingdom of Shu, pushing back the history of Shu by 2,000 years. A large number of unearthed cultural relics prove that Sanxingdui was one of the five major trade centers in ancient China. Bronze objects excavated here include the statue of man bigger than life size. It is the oldest and biggest bronze article in the world.
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