I regret not going to Shanxi earlier; the impact of leaving this place is too profound

Yungang Grottoes, originally known as Lingyan Temple or Stone Buddha Temple, are located at the southern foot of Wuzhou Mountain, 17 kilometers west of Datong City, Shanxi Province, and are one of China's famous groups of grottoes. The excavation of the Yungang Grottoes began during the Northern Wei Dynasty. In the third year of Emperor Daowu's reign (398 AD), Emperor Tuoba Gui moved the capital from Shengle to Pingcheng (present-day Datong City), making Wuzhou Mountain a strategic point between Shengle and Pingcheng. After Emperor Wencheng ascended to the throne, he ordered the monk Tanyao to oversee the great undertaking of restoring Buddhism. With Emperor Wencheng's support, Tanyao chose the spiritually endowed Wuzhou Mountain, 'carved into the mountain cliffs, created five grottoes, and sculpted a Buddha statue in each, with the tallest being seventy feet and the next sixty feet, the carvings were magnificent and unrivaled in the world.' Most of the grottoes at Yungang were completed before the Northern Wei Dynasty moved its capital to Luoyang, but the sculpture work continued until the Zhengguang period of the Northern Wei Dynasty (520~525 AD). The excavation of the Yungang Grottoes took about 150 years, spanning the Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi, Sui, and Tang dynasties. There are currently 45 main grottoes, 252 large and small niches, and over 59,000 stone sculptures, making it a treasure in the treasury of Chinese grotto art. Geographic location: Southern foot of Wuzhou (Zhou) Mountain, north bank of Wuzhou River, Datong City, Shanxi Province Era: Northern Wei Dynasty Protection level: First batch of national key cultural relics protection units Opening hours: 9:00——17:00 (Ticket sales stop at 16:30)