Gansu's Four Major Grottoes|Northern Grotto Temple

|Northern Grotto Temple. The Silk Road to Gansu, the most unmissable is the grotto culture. Super! Shocking! Worthy of the four major grotto temples in Gansu, as if crossing the river of time, peeping into a corner of the culture of Longdong a thousand years ago. ⏰Business hours: Normal business during the Spring Festival, the temple closes around 4 pm. 🔸Nestled against the mountain and facing the water, there are currently more than 200 large and small grottoes, more than 2000 stone statues, and 3 main grottoes are open. 🔸Few people, excellent experience. 🔸The outer wall is wrapped with various scaffolds and rain sheds, not for maintenance, but for the protection of cultural relics. 🔆Overall highlights: ✅Unique cave: small mouth and narrow door, spacious inside the cave; ✅Vivid: The expressions and postures of the Buddhas are rich, incorporating the aesthetic views and clothing characteristics of different dynasties; ✅Color: Reflects the color matching of the Northern Wei Dynasty (165 caves) and the painting skills of the Qing Dynasty (240 caves); ✅Collision of aesthetics of three dynasties: Northern Wei opened the cave, Sui and Tang opened the niche, Ming and Qing gradually supplemented; ✅Characteristic of the Loess Plateau: After weathering, the yellow sandstone reveals clear textures, the ultimate beauty of nature. 📢Three main grotto highlights: ✔️Cave No. 165: Excavated in the Northern Wei Dynasty, it is the largest existing Seven Buddha Cave in China, and it has completely preserved the Seven Buddha statues and the largest riding Bodhisattva statue in the country. The cave door is carved with crossed-legged Bodhisattva and Asura protector on both sides. The Buddha statue on the left is brightly colored and clear, and was amazed by the ancient people's color aesthetics! ✔️ Cave No. 222: Excavated in the Tang Dynasty, a Buddha, two disciples, and two Bodhisattva statues. The main Buddha statue is said to have been built according to the face of Wu Zetian. The Bodhisattva on the right stands confidently and relaxedly, worthy of my great Tang Dynasty, open and inclusive! There are traces of vagrants living and making fires in the cave, and part of the wall has been blackened, which adds some warmth to this cave. The different Buddha niches in the cave reflect the changes from the early Tang to the late Tang. ✔️Cave No. 240: A representative cave of the Northern Wei Dynasty, some Buddha statues have been repaired by Ming and Qing clay sculptures. The cave was opened to peel off the surface soil, revealing the true body of the Northern Wei and Sui and Tang Dynasties, which can compare the aesthetic differences between the Northern Wei and Sui and Tang cultures, and can also feel the skills of Ming and Qing clay sculptures and paintings, which is very interesting! 📙Travel guide: Bring a flashlight! The light in the cave is relatively dim. If you don't ask for an explanation, it is recommended to bring a flashlight with excellent lighting effects. Ticket price! The full ticket is 30 yuan/person, half price for locals, students/retired military personnel/teachers can all have half price discounts. Bring all the documents! It is recommended to bring them. If you don't bring them, you can also look at photos and screenshots, which are relatively loose. 🚗Round trip transportation: Depart from Xifeng City, Qingyang by car, you can arrive in 30 minutes