Posts Tagged ‘Buddhist Caves’
Tuesday, May 19th, 2015
Last weekend, I visited the village of Chinese friends in WuXiang (武乡) County, Shanxi Province, about three hours drive south of provincial capital Taiyuan. It’s an area well away from the international tourist sites and where few other foreigners have been, with many fascinating and very friendly ancient villages. On Saturday we explored a spectacular section of the TaiHang Mountains east of the village. The TaiHang Mountains are a 400 km long range that runs north-south along the eastern boundary of Shanxi Province. As well as stunning natural scenery, a great surprise was to hear Buddhist chanting wafting through the valleys. Rounding a spur, we came across a remote Buddhist temple inside a cave with sacred spring and monks cabins along the cliff line. On Sunday we went to the nearby TaiHang Dragon cave, a local attraction, which was also impressive.
TaiHang Mountains
TaiHang Mountains
Buddhist Cave Temple, TaiHang Mountains
Buddhist Cave Temple and Monk’s Cabins
Interior, Buddhist Cave Temple
Sacred Spring, Buddhist Cave Temple
Sacred Spring, Buddhist Cave Temple
Entrance, TaiHang Dragon Cave
TaiHang Dragon Cave
TaiHang Dragon Cave
Monday, February 6th, 2012
Songshan is considered to be the central sacred mountain of China. At the foot of this 1500 metre high mountain, close to the city of Dengfeng in Henan province and spread over a 40 square-kilometre circle, stand eight clusters of buildings and sites. These buildings are reflections of different ways of perceiving the centre of heaven and earth and the power of the mountain as a centre for religious devotion. Find out more about this amazing World Heritage listed location by watching the online videos of the CNTV Journeys in Time six-part Series: Mount Songshan.
I enjoyed a visit to the Songshan Shaolin Temple and its ancient pagoda forest as part of my travels through Anhui, Henan and Zhejiang provinces in 2009 (see story and pictures).
Tags: Buddhism, Buddhist Caves, CNTV, Dengfeng, Henan, Journeys in Time, Mount Song, Shaolin, Shaolin Temple, Songshan, Temples, UNESCO, White Horse Temple, World Heritage Posted in China Travel, Chinese History, My China Trips | Comments Off on Journeys in Time six-part Series: Songshan
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012
The renowned world heritage site Mogao Grottoes in northwest China’s Gansu province has reported record high visitor numbers for 2011. One of the country’s three major Buddhist art treasures, the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang received 680,000 tourists in 2011, up 23.6 percent from 550,000 in 2010. The 1,600-year-old Mogao Grottoes, or the Ancient Caves of 1,000 Buddhas, became China’s first UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. It has more than 2,000 colored sculptures and 45,000 square meters of frescoes in over 700 caves spread across about 1,600 meters along a hill. Find out more in the CNTV Travel story World heritage Mogao Grottoes receives record visitors in 2011.
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