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The Yungang Grottoes (a.k.a. Yungang Caves) are one of three major Buddhist caves complexes in China. The other two that are just as significant are Luoyang's Longmen Grottoes and Dunhuang's Mogao Caves. The Yungang Grottoes are located about 16km west of the city of Datong (Shanxi province). At this amazing cave complex that was built in the 5th and 6th century AD during the period of the Six dynasties, visitors will find 254 caves carved into the limestone cliffs at the northern side of Wuzhou Mountain. Out of this total number of caves, 45 are classified as major grottoes and the remaining 209 as secondary caves. In addition to the caves, there are also about 1100 niches at the site of the Yungang Grottoes. Both caves and niches together contain about 51,000 statues. Whereas the smallest of these statues is only 2cm tall, the biggest one measures 17 meters.

view of the entrance to the Yungang Grottoes near DatongThe caves and grottoes at this UNESCO world heritage site that stretches for about 1km from east to west are dispersed in three distinct groups: an eastern, middle and western group. The eastern group of the Yungang Caves is mainly built in the style of pagodas and the caves at the western group are either small or mid-sized with niches. The caves at the center of the Yungang Caves complex contain Buddha statues and are made up of front and back chambers. The walls and ceilings of the middle caves are furthermore carved with sculptures.

Buddha statues at a cave niche of the Yungang Grottoes near DatongThe five caves 16 - 20 at the eastern part of the Yungang Caves complex are the oldest. They were carved under the leadership of a monk named Tan Yao between AD 453 - 465 at a time when Buddhism had begun to spread along the Silk Route into China. The Northern Wei dynasty was one of the first to accept Buddhism as their state religion and Datong (then named Pingcheng) was their capital. All five of these early grottoes are very similar in their layout and design and each contains a Buddha statue with the features of one of the five emperors Taizu, Taizong, Shizu, Gaozong and Gaozu.

The group of middle caves includes the caves 1, 2, 12, 13, the unfinished cave 3 and the twin caves 5/6, 7/8 and 9/10. All these caves were built during a second construction phase from AD 471 onwards until the imperial court of the Northern Wei dynasty moved to their new capital of Luoyang in AD 494. Most of the middle caves are made up of a front and back room. The walls and ceilings of the middle caves are adorned with sculptures and a Buddhist statue stands in their center. Cave No. 6, the largest of all the caves at the Yungang Grottoes, is 20-meters tall and features a central pillar that is decorated with Buddhist statues and designs. The east, south and west wall of the cave also features Buddhist designs such as the story of Sakyamuni that is told on 33 embossed panels.

Since the imperial court no longer financed the construction of additional caves at the site of the Yungang Grottoes after its move to Luoyang, the rest of the caves had to be financed by private donors. The late caves and niches that were constructed at the western part of the complex between AD 494 and AD 525 are therefore either small or of medium size. The caves 4, 11, 14 and 15 are the most noteworthy among this final group of caves.

Travelers that have another day or two to spare after their visit of the Yungang Grottoes might consider planning a trip to Yangyuan County which is located to the east of Datong. This is where the world-famous Nihewan Ruins and Nihewan Museum are located. The Nihewan Ruins are 156 prehistoric relic sights, 40 of which are more than a million years old! The sites are dispersed throughout the Nihewan Basin's National Nature Reserve and about 50,000 relics that were unearthed there are now on display at the Nihewan Museum which is located very close to the center of the municipality of Yangyuan.

large Buddha sculpture inside one of the larger caves of the Yungang Caves near Datong

How to get to the Yungang Grottoes near Datong?

On the following Google map, you can see the location of the Yungang Grottoes (the blue icon) and the Weidu International Hotel (the yellow hotel bed icon) which is our recommended hotel nearby. Further below on this page, you can read a review of this hotel's services and amenities. In case you are planning a trip to China, you could support this website by using the provided affiliate links to check prices and book your hotel accomodation!

You can book hotels in China with both of our affiliate partners Agoda and Trip.com. No matter whether you choose Agoda or Trip.com, you will find many offers on each of these platforms that will allow you to make a risk-free booking with the possibility of free cancellation until a clearly stated date and time, sometimes as late as on the intended date of arrival. However, some deals require prepayment and don't permit cancellation without fees. In that case, the incurred cancellation fees are clearly stated.

When following an Agoda link, the search results will show you prices, availability and special offers for your chosen dates with the recommended hotel in the top search position as well as for other hotels in the same area. Links to Trip.com will take you to the specific hotel webpage where you can then search for availability, prices and special deals with your chosen dates.

The provided information was thoroughly researched from various hotel booking websites. Chinese History Digest is not responsible if any information regarding the provided services and amenities might have changed.

Recommended Hotel near Datong's Yungang Caves

The Weidu International Hotel that is reviewed below is located at Datong's city center. Other hotels that are closer to the Yungang Caves are of a lower standard. This part of China is not as developed for tourism as other parts of the country, so you can generally expect fewer accomodation choices and a lower quality thereof. In addition to the links to Agoda that are used in the review below, this 5-star hotel is also available for booking on Trip.com by following this link.