Xumishan Grottoes
The Xumishan Grottoes ( Chinese 須彌 山 石窟 / 须弥 山 石窟 , Pinyin Xūmíshān shíkū , W.-G. Hsü-mi-shan shih-k'u , English Xumishan Grottoes / Mount Sumeru Grottoes ) in the Ningxia Autonomous Region of the Hui- Nationality , China , are a series of Buddhist cave temples dug from the late period of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) to the Sui and Tang Dynasties (581-907) . They are located northwest of the city of Guyuan ( 固原 ) on the eastern slope of Mount Xumi ( 须弥 山 , Xumishan ), where the name in Buddhism refers to Mount Sumeru or Meru .
The grottos are over two kilometers long and are spread over five mountain peaks. Of the more than 140 grottos, over twenty have been relatively completely preserved, including 70 with Buddhist stone carvings. Many historical inscriptions have been preserved in the caves. The statue of the seated Buddha Shakyamuni ( Shijia zuoxiang ) is 25 meters high.
Since 1996 the site has been on the list of monuments of the People's Republic of China in Ningxia (2—12).
literature
- Ningxia Huizu zizhiqu wenwu guanli weiyuanhui [Committee for the Management of the Cultural Property of the Huizu Self-Governing Area in Ningxia] & Zhongyang meishu xueyuan meishu shixi [Art History Institute at the Central Academy of Fine Arts] (Ed.): Xumishan temple. Beijing, Wenwu chubanshe 1988
Coordinates: 36 ° 16 ′ 28 ″ N , 105 ° 59 ′ 7 ″ E