Grottoes of the Thousand Buddha Temple Bingling Si Shiku

The Grottoes of the Thousand Buddha Temple (Bingling Si Shiku) in the mountain of Xiaohishishan, about 90km/56mi west of Lanzhou and 35km/22mi southwest of Yongling, can be reached by bus. The cave complex was constructed in 420 but achieved eminence during the Tang dynasty (618-907). At the time of the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) it was turned into a Tibetan monastery. The Chinese name ''Bingling'' is the transliteration of a Tibetan term, which means ''Thousand Buddhas'' or even ''Hundred Thousand Buddhas''. The temple site includes 34 grottoes and 149 niches with 679 stone sculptures, 82 clay statues - the largest statue is 27m/89ft, the smallest 20cm/8in high - and 900sq.m/9700sq.ft of wall paintings. In the 40m/130ft high grotto No. 169 there is an inscription on the north wall which confirms the year of the temple's construction: ''in the first year of Jian Hong'', i.e. AD 420.

Between 1964 and 1974 the hydro-electric power station Liujia Xia was built, which provides Gansu and areas of the neighboring provinces with energy. During the construction a 200m long dam was constructed in order to protect the grottoes from any flooding. As a result it is possible to visit them by boat.