Buddhist carvings found on cliff

Four cliff carvings of Buddhist images have been discovered in a remote spot in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Experts say the discovery sheds new light on the development of Buddhism in China.

The carvings are in the Helan Mountain region, an ancient route that once linked Ningxia and Inner Mongolia. Archeologists found four images of Buddha inscribed on a cliff. The biggest is nine meters high and six meter wide. Sanskrit inscriptions were found beside the images.

FourcliffcarvingsofBuddhistimageshavebeendiscoveredinaremote
spotintheNingxiaHuiAutonomousRegion.

Experts from the local cultural heritage authority have concluded that these Buddhist images were carved in the Ming Dynasty some four hundred years ago.

The history of Buddhist carving in China goes back over one thousand years to a time when Buddhism was becoming popular. From the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, monks used to travel along the Helan Mountain route to spread Buddhism into Inner Mongolia. They paused to leave these inscriptions during their long journeys.

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Ancient Buddhist temples in Beijing

Beijing is home to a host of centuries-old Buddhist temples. Some were built for ordinary people, while others were only for the privileged members of the imperial court. Come with us as we take a look inside some of these temples.

Zhihua Temple

TheZhihuaTemple,inLumicangHutongofBeijing'sDongcheng
District,wasbuiltintheyear1443duringtheMingDynasty.

The Zhihua Temple, in Lumicang Hutong of Beijing's Dongcheng District, was built in the year 1443 during the Ming Dynasty.

It was formerly the ancestral temple of Wang Zhen, a eunuch of the Rites Supervising Office in the Ming Dynasty. Passing through the temple gate, there are the Clock Pavilion and the Drum Pavilion, the Gate of Wisdom and Cultivation, the Hall of Wisdom and Cultivation, the Hall of Great Wisdom, the Tibetan Hall, the Hall of Tathagata, the Hall of Great Sorrow and more. Among them, the Hall of Tathagata is the most exquisite and elegant. It has two levels and enshrines the Statue of Tathagata.

TheZhihuaTemple,inLumicangHutongofBeijing'sDongcheng
District,wasbuiltintheyear1443duringtheMingDynasty.

A wooden version of Tripitaka completed during the reign of Emperor Qianlong was kept in the Zhihua Temple. It contains 724 sections in more than 7,240 volumes and 1,675 Buddhist sutras. It weighs 400 tons and is one of two wooden versions of Tripitaka in Chinese in the world. The other is the Korean Version of Tripitaka, which is kept in the Haiyin Temple in Korea.

The roofs of the main buildings in the temple are covered with black glazed tiles. Despite several repairs, the main parts of the buildings, such as vaults, roof beams and colored paintings, still preserve the characteristics of structures in the early Ming Dynasty. It is the most intact complex of temple buildings of the Ming Dynasty in Beijing.