Gansu-Qinghai-Ningxia Road Trip (30): The "Buddhist Kingdom" on the Cliff - Maijishan Grottoes

Travel with Ctrip Season 16 - Gansu-Qinghai-Ningxia Road Trip (30) The "Buddhist Kingdom" on the Cliff - Maijishan Grottoes Longnan-Tianshui, Gansu Sep 24, 2023 Overcast to cloudy, 12-16°C, max altitude 1,700m. Today, we set off for Tianshui, 350 km away. We took the G75, G8513, G7011, and G30 highways, which added 60 km to our journey but saved us an hour. We crossed the Qinling Mountains from south to north. The Qinling Mountains, in the broad sense, are connected to the Kunlun Mountains in the west, both of which are the dragon veins of China. They are also connected to the Huai River in the east, which has historically been the boundary between the north and south of China. In this way, we returned to the north from the south. The entire highway runs at the foot of the Qinling Mountains, with countless tunnels, more than those in the mountains of Guizhou, and longer, such as the Micangshan Tunnel, which is over 8.7 km long. We arrived in Tianshui at 12:30 pm and went to the Maijishan Grottoes. Maijishan Grottoes (5A) is a World Cultural Heritage Site and one of the four major grottoes in China (Fig. 1). The Maijishan Grottoes are not as well-known as the Longmen Grottoes or the Yungang Grottoes, let alone the Mogao Caves in the same region. However, the painted sculptures of the Maijishan Grottoes are unique. If the Mogao Caves are a treasure trove of murals, then the Maijishan Grottoes are a treasure trove of painted sculptures (Fig. 2). The grottoes are located on Maiji Mountain, which is surrounded by steep cliffs and lush greenery. Maiji Mountain is a solitary peak in the Xiaolong Mountains, 142 meters high, and is named after its resemblance to a wheat stack (Fig. 3). Visitors can climb the wooden plank road built along the cliff to visit the grottoes (Fig. 4). The Maijishan Grottoes were built between 384 and 417 AD and contain 221 caves and 10,632 clay sculptures and stone carvings, ranging from 16 meters to just over 10 centimeters in height. They are famous for their exquisite clay sculptures and are known as the Oriental Sculpture Art Gallery (Fig. 5-8). After visiting the grottoes, we had a big question: how did the ancients carve such exquisite statues on the cliffs? After consulting the information and observing the holes left on the cliffs, we verified the wisdom of the ancient craftsmen in building plank roads on the cliffs (Fig. 9). We wandered around the scenic area for about two hours, from the east cliff to the west cliff, and then out of the scenic area from the west cliff, leaving at 3:30 pm. After experiencing it firsthand, Maiji Mountain is indeed a magnificent and immortal work of art among the grottoes in China. Tonight, we will stay in Maiji District, Tianshui, and continue north to Pingliang tomorrow.