Tianlong Mountain Grottoes

The Tianlong Mountain Grottoes are located at the Tianlong mountainside 40km in the southwest of Taiyuan City, 15.3 km in the northwest of Jinci Temple. The Tianlong Mountain Grottoes are located at the half way point of the cliffs on the Eastmount and Westmount, among which there are 27 grottoes in crafted in the Eastern Wei, Northern Qi, Sui and Tang Dynasties. There are 8 Eastmount grottoes, 13 Westmount grottoes, 3 grottoes in the north of the Tianlong Mountain, 3 grottoes in the southwest of the temple, which are connected by mountain paths. There are more than 1500 statues in grottoes on hand, and 1144 embossments, caissons and portraits. The creation times of the grottoes are different, most are of the Tang Dynasty. It is famous for the exquisite, realistic and lifelike stone statues with meticulous and emotional expressions. Among them, the 9th bi-level grotto newly built with a wooden attic with a quadruple-eave gablet roof is the one of Late Tang Five Dynasties which is the most recommended to visit. The upper Maitreya sitting statue with a height of 8.8 m has beautiful head and neck, slim eyebrows, round eyes, long and straight auricle, and fluent drapery. The lower 11-face Avalokitesvara upright statue with a height of about 9m has a beautiful posture, wearing wreaths, graceful bobbin net, vivid and natural, having a strong moving artistic influence, and is called the masterpiece of ancient Chinese sculpture art. The Munsu Riding a Green Lion and Samantabhadra Riding a White Elephant on both sides of the Avalokitesvara statue are also masterpiece sculptures of the Tang Dynasty.

Address: southwest of Taiyuan

TEL：0086-0351—6349668

Opening hours：8:30—17:30

Ticket price：30yuan

Transport: take the bus that goes from Taiyuan to Qingxu, or take NO. 8 bus and take off at the Jinci Temple Station. Then, bypass Jinci Temple to Tianlong Mountain, walk straight along the road that around the mountain until you see Tianlongshan Grottos.