Tips
The Bingling Temple Grottoes are
a series of Buddhist caves that
are situated on a hard-to-access
cliff face, some 80 kilometers from
Lanzhou.
Buses are available from Lanzhou
to the ferry terminal of the
Liujiaxia Reservoir in Yongjing
County. The bus ride takes about
two hours and costs 10 yuan.
Between June and October,
tourist boats depart daily from
the ferry terminal to the Bingling
Lower Temple, while during the
winter months the water level is
too low for boats, and there is no
access by road.
The boat trip costs around 80
yuan and takes about three hours.
You can also bargain down the price
for a motorboat (up to 8 people,
one hour, around 500 to 600 yuan).
The admission fee for the Bingling
Temple Grottoes is 50 yuan.WHEN I recall my recent trip to the Bingling Temple Grottoes in Gansu Province, the two things that immediately come to my mind are the 27-meter-tall statue of Maitreya (the Future Buddha) and a 42-year-old Buddhist monk.

The huge Buddhist statute, which stands out as the first sight in the Bingling Lower Temple grottoes and the Buddhist monk, who has been living in the Bingling Upper Temple for the past three decades, left a deep impression on me when I visited the grottoes Sept. 21.

Situated on Jishi Hill, about 35 kilometers southwest of Yongjing in Gansu Province, the Bingling Temple Grottoes are among the four best known Buddhist grottoes on the ancient Silk Road, which also include the Mogao Grottoes, Yulin Grottoes, and Maijishan Grottoes. It ranks only second to the Mogao Grottoes in cultural and artistic value.

The Bingling Temple Grottoes are actually made up of three parts: the Bing-ling Lower Temple grottoes, the Bingling Upper Temple grottoes and the grottoes in between.

The core of the Bingling Temple Grottoes refers to the grottoes on a 60-meter-tall cliff on Jishi Hill, where the Bingling Lower Temple is located.

Bingling is a transliteration of the Tibetan, and “Ten Thousand Buddhas,” common name of Buddhist caves in China.

The name justifies the significant influence Tibetan Buddhism has had on the Bing-ling Temple Grottoes when the Bingling Lower Temple was turned into a Buddhist monastery during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

According to historical records, the Bingling Lower Temple used to be called the Lingyan Temple during the Tang (618-917) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties.

Construction of the Bingling Temple Grottoes began in the Western Jin Dynasty (317-420). At that time, as the local rulers of the Xianbei nationality in northern China were Buddhists, cave building and making statues were popular in the area.

Built in 420, Cave 169 is the oldest cave extant in the Bing-ling Temple Grottoes today. The cave has 24 niches, which contain 68 sculptures and about 150 square meters of murals, which are characteristic of the artistic style of the early stages of Chinese Buddhism.

Cave 169 contains the earliest epigraph of any of China’s Buddhist grottoes, which mark the cave as the earliest one among all Buddhist grottoes extant in the country.

The Bingling Temple Grottoes once prospered until the middle of the Qing Dynasty. The grottoes were abandoned until they were rediscovered in 1950s and underwent a thorough repair 1960s.

Today, there still exist a total of 183 niches, 694 stone statues, 82 clay sculptures, and 900 square meters of murals as well as six ink and carved inscriptions in the Bingling Temple Grottoes. The caves of the Tang Dynasty take up more than two thirds of the area.

A little out of the way today, the Bingling Temple Grottoes can been seen in a day.

Completed in 1974, the Liujiaxia Reservoir was the first major reservoir built on the upper reaches of the Yellow River. With steep cliffs and towering mountains rising on either side of the Liujiaxia Reservoir, the one-hour journey to the reservoir was quite impressive.

As we approached our destination, the Bingling Temple Grottoes with its beautify surrounding scenery began to enter our view.

After going through an entrance gate, we found the Bingling Lower Temple Grottoes were actually a 60-meter-high cliff, which is part of the northern side of a gorge formed by the Yellow River.

The grottoes, which stretch for 200 meters, include caves from the Western Jin, North Wei (386-534), Sui (581-618), Tang, and Song (960-1279), Yuan, Ming, Qing dynasties. Within and on the cliff are a series of winding walkways and stairs that lead around the site.

Of the all statues in the grottoes, the most imposing is the statue of Maitreya, which is 27 meters tall, and stands out as the first sight from the reservoir. The statute is the third largest of its kind extant in Gansu Province.

After visiting the Bingling Lower Temple, four people from our group decided to take a modified jeep to the Bingling Upper Temple.

There was actually no road in the gorge between the lower and upper temples. The jeep’s young driver had to drive along the riverbed in the gorge.

About 10 minutes later, we got to the upper temple only to find the temple was actually a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located in a quiet and picturesque valley.

A monk called “Pan Shutang” in Chinese or “Pengcuo Jiancuo” in Tibetan, greeted us and then led us around the monastery.

Coming from a village in the mountains nearby, Pan, 42, has been living in the monastery for more than 30 years.

“Because of the poverty, my parents sent me here to learn Buddhism with a Buddhist master when I was about 10 years old,” Pan.

“After my master died at age 88 in 2003, I have been living alone here,” Pan said.

Most interestingly, we found Pan could speak some basic English, besides Tibetan and Mandarin.

“Occasionally, there are some foreign tourists to visit here and they teach me how to speak English,” he said.

In the upper temple, we saw a 4.299-meter-tall seated Buddhist statute from the Sui Dynasty, which has been well preserved in Cave 2.

Newman Huo

WHEN I recall my recent trip to the Bingling Temple Grottoes in Gansu Province, the two things that immediately come to my mind are the 27-meter-tall statue of Maitreya (the Future Buddha) and a 42-year-old Buddhist monk.

The huge Buddhist statute, which stands out as the first sight in the Bingling Lower Temple grottoes and the Buddhist monk, who has been living in the Bingling Upper Temple for the past three decades, left a deep impression on me when I visited the grottoes Sept. 21.

Situated on Jishi Hill, about 35 kilometers southwest of Yongjing in Gansu Province, the Bingling Temple Grottoes are among the four best known Buddhist grottoes on the ancient Silk Road, which also include the Mogao Grottoes, Yulin Grottoes, and Maijishan Grottoes. It ranks only second to the Mogao Grottoes in cultural and artistic value.

The Bingling Temple Grottoes are actually made up of three parts: the Bing-ling Lower Temple grottoes, the Bingling Upper Temple grottoes and the grottoes in between.

The core of the Bingling Temple Grottoes refers to the grottoes on a 60-meter-tall cliff on Jishi Hill, where the Bingling Lower Temple is located.

Bingling is a transliteration of the Tibetan, and “Ten Thousand Buddhas,” common name of Buddhist caves in China.

The name justifies the significant influence Tibetan Buddhism has had on the Bing-ling Temple Grottoes when the Bingling Lower Temple was turned into a Buddhist monastery during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

According to historical records, the Bingling Lower Temple used to be called the Lingyan Temple during the Tang (618-917) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties.

Construction of the Bingling Temple Grottoes began in the Western Jin Dynasty (317-420). At that time, as the local rulers of the Xianbei nationality in northern China were Buddhists, cave building and making statues were popular in the area.

Built in 420, Cave 169 is the oldest cave extant in the Bing-ling Temple Grottoes today. The cave has 24 niches, which contain 68 sculptures and about 150 square meters of murals, which are characteristic of the artistic style of the early stages of Chinese Buddhism.

Cave 169 contains the earliest epigraph of any of China’s Buddhist grottoes, which mark the cave as the earliest one among all Buddhist grottoes extant in the country.

The Bingling Temple Grottoes once prospered until the middle of the Qing Dynasty. The grottoes were abandoned until they were rediscovered in 1950s and underwent a thorough repair 1960s.

Today, there still exist a total of 183 niches, 694 stone statues, 82 clay sculptures, and 900 square meters of murals as well as six ink and carved inscriptions in the Bingling Temple Grottoes. The caves of the Tang Dynasty take up more than two thirds of the area.

A little out of the way today, the Bingling Temple Grottoes can been seen in a day.

Completed in 1974, the Liujiaxia Reservoir was the first major reservoir built on the upper reaches of the Yellow River. With steep cliffs and towering mountains rising on either side of the Liujiaxia Reservoir, the one-hour journey to the reservoir was quite impressive.

As we approached our destination, the Bingling Temple Grottoes with its beautify surrounding scenery began to enter our view.

After going through an entrance gate, we found the Bingling Lower Temple Grottoes were actually a 60-meter-high cliff, which is part of the northern side of a gorge formed by the Yellow River.

The grottoes, which stretch for 200 meters, include caves from the Western Jin, North Wei (386-534), Sui (581-618), Tang, and Song (960-1279), Yuan, Ming, Qing dynasties. Within and on the cliff are a series of winding walkways and stairs that lead around the site.

Of the all statues in the grottoes, the most imposing is the statue of Maitreya, which is 27 meters tall, and stands out as the first sight from the reservoir. The statute is the third largest of its kind extant in Gansu Province.

After visiting the Bingling Lower Temple, four people from our group decided to take a modified jeep to the Bingling Upper Temple.

There was actually no road in the gorge between the lower and upper temples. The jeep’s young driver had to drive along the riverbed in the gorge.

About 10 minutes later, we got to the upper temple only to find the temple was actually a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located in a quiet and picturesque valley.

A monk called “Pan Shutang” in Chinese or “Pengcuo Jiancuo” in Tibetan, greeted us and then led us around the monastery.

Coming from a village in the mountains nearby, Pan, 42, has been living in the monastery for more than 30 years.

“Because of the poverty, my parents sent me here to learn Buddhism with a Buddhist master when I was about 10 years old,” Pan.

“After my master died at age 88 in 2003, I have been living alone here,” Pan said.

Most interestingly, we found Pan could speak some basic English, besides Tibetan and Mandarin.

“Occasionally, there are some foreign tourists to visit here and they teach me how to speak English,” he said.

In the upper temple, we saw a 4.299-meter-tall seated Buddhist statute from the Sui Dynasty, which has been well preserved in Cave 2.

Newman Huo

WHEN I recall my recent trip to the Bingling Temple Grottoes in Gansu Province, the two things that immediately come to my mind are the 27-meter-tall statue of Maitreya (the Future Buddha) and a 42-year-old Buddhist monk.

The huge Buddhist statute, which stands out as the first sight in the Bingling Lower Temple grottoes and the Buddhist monk, who has been living in the Bingling Upper Temple for the past three decades, left a deep impression on me when I visited the grottoes Sept. 21.

Situated on Jishi Hill, about 35 kilometers southwest of Yongjing in Gansu Province, the Bingling Temple Grottoes are among the four best known Buddhist grottoes on the ancient Silk Road, which also include the Mogao Grottoes, Yulin Grottoes, and Maijishan Grottoes. It ranks only second to the Mogao Grottoes in cultural and artistic value.

The Bingling Temple Grottoes are actually made up of three parts: the Bing-ling Lower Temple grottoes, the Bingling Upper Temple grottoes and the grottoes in between.

The core of the Bingling Temple Grottoes refers to the grottoes on a 60-meter-tall cliff on Jishi Hill, where the Bingling Lower Temple is located.

Bingling is a transliteration of the Tibetan, and “Ten Thousand Buddhas,” common name of Buddhist caves in China.

The name justifies the significant influence Tibetan Buddhism has had on the Bing-ling Temple Grottoes when the Bingling Lower Temple was turned into a Buddhist monastery during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

According to historical records, the Bingling Lower Temple used to be called the Lingyan Temple during the Tang (618-917) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties.

Construction of the Bingling Temple Grottoes began in the Western Jin Dynasty (317-420). At that time, as the local rulers of the Xianbei nationality in northern China were Buddhists, cave building and making statues were popular in the area.

Built in 420, Cave 169 is the oldest cave extant in the Bing-ling Temple Grottoes today. The cave has 24 niches, which contain 68 sculptures and about 150 square meters of murals, which are characteristic of the artistic style of the early stages of Chinese Buddhism.

Cave 169 contains the earliest epigraph of any of China’s Buddhist grottoes, which mark the cave as the earliest one among all Buddhist grottoes extant in the country.

The Bingling Temple Grottoes once prospered until the middle of the Qing Dynasty. The grottoes were abandoned until they were rediscovered in 1950s and underwent a thorough repair 1960s.

Today, there still exist a total of 183 niches, 694 stone statues, 82 clay sculptures, and 900 square meters of murals as well as six ink and carved inscriptions in the Bingling Temple Grottoes. The caves of the Tang Dynasty take up more than two thirds of the area.

A little out of the way today, the Bingling Temple Grottoes can been seen in a day.

Completed in 1974, the Liujiaxia Reservoir was the first major reservoir built on the upper reaches of the Yellow River. With steep cliffs and towering mountains rising on either side of the Liujiaxia Reservoir, the one-hour journey to the reservoir was quite impressive.

As we approached our destination, the Bingling Temple Grottoes with its beautify surrounding scenery began to enter our view.

After going through an entrance gate, we found the Bingling Lower Temple Grottoes were actually a 60-meter-high cliff, which is part of the northern side of a gorge formed by the Yellow River.

The grottoes, which stretch for 200 meters, include caves from the Western Jin, North Wei (386-534), Sui (581-618), Tang, and Song (960-1279), Yuan, Ming, Qing dynasties. Within and on the cliff are a series of winding walkways and stairs that lead around the site.

Of the all statues in the grottoes, the most imposing is the statue of Maitreya, which is 27 meters tall, and stands out as the first sight from the reservoir. The statute is the third largest of its kind extant in Gansu Province.

After visiting the Bingling Lower Temple, four people from our group decided to take a modified jeep to the Bingling Upper Temple.

There was actually no road in the gorge between the lower and upper temples. The jeep’s young driver had to drive along the riverbed in the gorge.

About 10 minutes later, we got to the upper temple only to find the temple was actually a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located in a quiet and picturesque valley.

A monk called “Pan Shutang” in Chinese or “Pengcuo Jiancuo” in Tibetan, greeted us and then led us around the monastery.

Coming from a village in the mountains nearby, Pan, 42, has been living in the monastery for more than 30 years.

“Because of the poverty, my parents sent me here to learn Buddhism with a Buddhist master when I was about 10 years old,” Pan.

“After my master died at age 88 in 2003, I have been living alone here,” Pan said.

Most interestingly, we found Pan could speak some basic English, besides Tibetan and Mandarin.

“Occasionally, there are some foreign tourists to visit here and they teach me how to speak English,” he said.

In the upper temple, we saw a 4.299-meter-tall seated Buddhist statute from the Sui Dynasty, which has been well preserved in Cave 2.