The Yungang Grottoes are situated on the northern banks of the Wuzhou River，at the foot of Wuzhou mountain range around sixteen kilometers tothe west of Datong City in Shanxi Province.The stone grottoes are carved into the hillside and extend for one kilometer in an east-west direction.Forty-five primary grottoes remain today，but there are a total of some 1，100 smaller ones containing altogether some 51，000 carved statues.This is one of the largest groupings of stone grottoes in China，famed throughout the world as anartistic treasury;the grottoes are among the first protectednational monuments of China.
Carving of the grottoes and their statues began in 460 and proceeded for some sixty years，during the Northern Wei period and over the course of the reigns of several dynastic rulers.Carving began after a period which is described in history as“Taiwu annihilates Buddhism，”favorably helped by a period described as“Wencheng re s t o re s t h e l a w.”E m p e ro r We n c h e n g’s“p e a c e f u l”reign years（460–465）began the largescale carving of the Yungang Grottoes，and they were basically completed by the fifth year of the Zhengguang reign of Emperor Xiaoming（524）.The senior monk is said to have begunthe work，with five grottoes that are now described asGrottoes 16 to 20.Most of the existing grottoes were carved before the 18th year of the Taihe reign（494），when the capital was moved to Luoyang.The artistry of the Yungang Grottoes is considered to be the grandest and most magnificent among the three main Buddhist grottoes in China，the others being at Mogao and Dunhuang.The smallest Buddhist sculpture is a mere 2 centimeters high，the largest is 17 meters high.Most depict various aspects of religious deities.There are also many reproductions in stone of wooden architecture，finely wrought details of ornamentation and design，musical instruments，and outstanding relief works of Buddhist paraphernalia.The carving style continues and builds on the sculptural traditions of Qin and Han，but has also absorbed and blended in the refinements of Buddhist arts，so that it has its own unique artistic style.The stone grottoes at Yungang deeply influenced the later development of Suiand Tang arts，and are a testament to cultural exchangeand the interaction of China with other Asian countries.
