Brief Introduction: Binglingsi grottos are located in Xiaojishi Shan Mountain which is with picturesque scenery , 35 km southwest of Yongjing county which is 85 km away from south of Lanzhou city.The grottos is one of five famous grottos in China. At beginning it’s called Tangshu grottos in Qiang language which means ghost caves in Chinese. In Tang dynasty (618-907AD) it was called Longxingsi temple and Lingyansi temple in Northern Song dynasty (960-1127 AD). After 15 century it got the name  Binglingsi temple.Bingling is from Tibetan tone, which means “a hundred thousand Buddha” in Chinese. During the sixteen states period the minority Xianbei built up Western Qin state (385-431 AD) in Linxia which is in the south of Binglingsi grottos 60km. At this special period Binglingsi grottos Started to be excavated. The exact excavation time for the first grotto is 420 AD. Since the sixteen states period the Binglingsi grottos have been over 1600 years , which went through Northern Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming dynasty. When the Western Qin state (385-431AD) ruled this region,  Linxia was set up as its capital, and the king of  the state used to visit these grottos and wrote some inscriptions on the cliff which still exists now. Before 12 century the grottos had a great influence to Han Buddhism, the pure land sect, the huayan sect and zen sect. During the late Yuan dynasty and beginning of Ming dynasty (14th century), the yellow section of Tibetan Buddhism was introduced to Binglingsi grottos. After this Han Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism were both preched here. Years later ,On June 22, 2014 the Binglingsi grottos were successfully put into the world heritage list by UNESCO.

The Binglingsi grottos consist of three parts whic are shangsi (upper temple),donggou(cave and trench) and xiasi (down temple). Among them the scenery of Xiasi is more spectacular. All grottos distribute along the cliff which is 200 meter long and 60 meters high. Many rocks are convex a lot above the grottos , which just like eaves of a house to prevent rain and sun. So most of grottos are still preserved very well. So far there are 183 grottos shrines, 694 stone sculptures, 82 clay sculptures and around 900 square meters of murals along the xiasi temple. The biggest statue is  a statue of Maitreya Buddha in Cave 171 ,which is 27 meters high, built in Tang dynasty (618-907 AD). The smallest statue is 10cm high. The largest cave is Cave 169, which is a natural cave, 15m high, 26.7m wide and 19 m deep. Many complete Buddha niches ,clay and stone sculptures still exist in the cave 169.

The level: world heritage

Entrance fee : 50 yuan RMB/person , Speedboat: 150 yuan RMB/person

Selling Tickets Time: 08:30-17:00

Better Seasons to Visit: April—November

Visiting Mode Normally: After arriving at Yongjing county, take speed boat through Liu jiaxia valley to get to Binglingsi grottos. Then visit the grottos by yourself or pay for a guide service and then follow the guide to visit.

Speed Boat Ride: about 90 minutes for roundtrip

Visiting Time: around 1-1.5 hrs

Visiting Tips: 1, There is no regular road by bus to Binglingsi grottos, so you have to take speed boat to reach there after you get to Yongjing county;

2, Normally from December to March of next year, the water level of Liu Jiaxia valley is quite low, which is not good for speed boat to drive. So you should choose the right season to visit;

3, For these grottos taking photos and making videos are both ok when you are visiting.

Related Article & Tours:

 8 Days  Charming Silk Road Tour ;            9 Days Hexi Corridor Tour ;

12 Days Silk Road Adventure Tour ;           8 Days Silk Road Bullet Train Tour ;

 10 Days Essence Tour of the Silk Road ;    15 Days Silk Road Chanllenging Tour ;  

10 Days Charming Silk Road Tour ;