Yungang Grottoes

The Yungang caves were cut into a soft sandstone ridge west of Datong when the Northern Wei court had its capital here, and the carving covers roughly a kilometre of cliff. There are more than two hundred and fifty caves and niches, from shallow recesses the size of a hand to chambers you walk into, their walls packed floor to ceiling with Buddhas, attendants, musicians and flying figures. The best known image is the seated Buddha of cave 20, about fourteen metres high, left exposed when the wooden hall in front of it fell centuries ago. Traces of pigment survive in the sheltered caves, and the earliest groups show clear Central Asian influence in the faces and drapery.

What you actually see

• Cave 20 - the great seated Buddha, now open to the weather after its timber hall collapsed.
• The painted caves - interiors where original pigment still shows on ceilings and niches.
• The pillar caves - chambers with a carved central pillar you can walk around.
• The cliff walk - the full run of niches and small caves along the sandstone face.

When to go

Late spring to early autumn is easiest; Datong winters are cold and windy and the site is largely outdoors. Morning light falls on the cliff face, and coach groups build up from mid-morning. Allow half a day, or longer if you want to look at individual caves properly rather than walk the line.

Honest expectations

The approach now runs through a large new ceremonial avenue and temple complex that has nothing to do with the ancient carving. Several important caves are closed, screened or lit dimly, and photography is restricted inside some of them. Weathering has flattened a lot of detail on the outer niches, and there is little shade on the walkway.

Nearby

Datong's rebuilt old town, the Huayan and Shanhua temples, and the Hanging Temple south of the city.