Brief Introduction:Yulin Grottoes, also known as Ten Thousand Buddha Gorge，are located 70 kilometers south of Guazhou County (formerly Anxi County) in Gansu Province,which is under the jurisdiction of Dunhuang Academy. All of grottoes were excavated on both sides of the vertical cliffs in the Yulin River Canyon. Yu Lin means elm forest, so it got its name from the forest of elm trees along the riverbank.

The detailed building time of Yulin grottos can not be verified. But from the inference of caves' form and the related inscription,Yulin Grottoes might be built in the Northern Wei Dynasty(385-534AD) before the Sui(581-618AD) Dynasty and Tang Dynasty(618-907AD). From the style of frescoes and visitors’ inscription, it can be told that many caves were chiseled and lots of frescos were painted during Tang(618-907AD),Five dynasties(907-960AD),Song(960-1279AD),WesternXia(1032-1227AD), Yuan(1206-1368AD)and Qing(1644-1911AD) dynasties. So far there are totally 43 caves in Yulin Grottoes，among which 32 caves are on the eastern cliff and 11 caves are on the west. The distribution area is 112,850 square meters, and the mural area is around 4200 square meters. There are 10856 pieces of painted Buddha and Taoism and 244 statues of painted Buddha and Taoism . Among the caves, there are 3 caves in the Tang Dynasty, 8 caves in the Five Dynasties, 13 caves in the Song Dynasty, 4 cavesin the Western Xia Dynasty and 9 caves in the Qing Dynasty. In terms of the content and artistic style of the grottoes, it is similar to Mogao Grottoes, which can be a branch of the art system of Mogao Grottoes. So it is called the sister grottos of Mogao grottoes .

In 1961,Yulin Grottoes was announced by the State Council as one of the first batch ofkey cultural relics under national protection

The Level:The first batch of national key cultural relic protection sites

Admission Fee: 40 yuan/person for Chinese , 55 yuan/person for foreigners

Opening Time: 9：00 a.m.—5:30p.m.(The sale of tickets is stopped by 4:30p.m.) (from May 1—Oct.31);

                        10:00 a.m.—5:00p.m.(The sale of tickets is stopped by 4:00p.m.) (from Nov.1—Apr.30)

Better Seasons to Visit : all seasons

Visiting Time: around 1--1.5 hour

Travel Tips : 1, In order to ensure the safety of tourists and the cultural relics will not be damaged, the caves will be closed in case of heavy rain, snow, sand storm and other bad weather.( So please pay attention to local weather forecast and the information from Yulin grottos)

2, It is forbidden to bring items such as large backpack, box, camera, camera and selfie stick into the grottoes. Please deposit them free of charge in the storage area;

3, It is strictly prohibited to carry all kinds of inflammable, explosive, toxic and corrosive dangerous goods and articles with special odor into the visiting areaof grottoes;

4, It is strictly prohibited to take photos, scratch, write or touch murals or painted sculptures in the caves. Anyone who damages or destroys cultural relics will be investigated and punished according to relevant laws and regulations of the state;

5, Pets of all kinds are not allowed to enter the caves;

6, Drones are not allowed to fly without permission in the core protected area of the Yulin Grottoes;

7, Smoking is prohibited in the visiting area of grottoes.

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