Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves

The Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves were first excavated in the late Northern and Southern Dynasties. They have been one of the Buddhist centers in the Western Regions since the Tang, Five Dynasties, Song and Yuan Dynasties. There were originally 83 caves in total. Among the 57 existing ones, 40 have murals. Among them, the murals in Cave No. 20 depict the image of the Uighur Gaochang King and Queen. On the back wall of Cave 33, there is a painting showing the disciples standing in silence and mourning after the Buddha's Nirvana, while Cave 38 is a cave reflecting the life scenes of ancient Manichaeism. Caves 82 and 83 are small memorial caves built for Buddhist monks during the powerful period of the Gaochang Uighur Kingdom in the 10th and 11th centuries AD. The Uighur Gaochang was the prosperous period of the cave group. At the end of the 13th century AD, the Gaochang royal family moved east to Yongchang, Gansu. In addition, after Islam was introduced to Turpan, Buddhism gradually declined, and the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves declined accordingly. They were destroyed in the pagan conflict, and the eyes of the figures in the murals were all dug out. At the beginning of this century, it was repeatedly robbed and destroyed by foreigners, which made it even worse and unrecognizable. Despite this, the remaining Buddha seat is gorgeous and exquisite, and the remaining murals are rich in content and colorful. It is still a large-scale cultural and artistic treasure house. If you want to appreciate the essence of the murals in this cave, you can only go to the Indian Art Museum in Berlin, Germany. To commemorate the passing of Tang Monk and his disciples here, a sculpture of four masters and disciples was built not far from the Attraction. The shape is based on the 1986 TV series "Journey to the West". Behind the sculpture is the Flame Mountain.