Buddhist Scenic Areas in China

1. Four Famous Buddhist Mountains

Wutai Mountain: Manjusri Bodhisattva Buddhist Field

The Wutai Mountain is one of the four famous Buddhist Mountains in our country. It is situated in the north of Shanxi Province and is 230 kilometers away from Taiyuan City. It is noted for its graceful alpine natural landscapes and resplendent Buddhist culture and arts. There are a large number of Buddhist temples in the mountain. More on Wutai Mountain

Putuo Mountain: Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva Buddhist Field

The Putuo Mountain is a famous Buddhist mountain in China. With a length of about 8600 meters and a width of about 500 meters, it covers an area of 12.5 square kilometers. There are exotic and ancient stone caves and numerous Buddhist temples on the mountain. More on Putuo Mountain

Emei Mountain: Samntabhadra Bodhisattva Buddhist Field

The E'mei Mountain is towering, tall and straight, and as graceful as an eyebrow. Reputed as "the grandest and most graceful in the southwest", it is one of the four famous Buddhist Mountains in China. The E'mei Mountian is located at the southwest edge of the Sichuan Basin. It is meandering in appearance "like a woman's curved eyebrow on a broad forehead", which is thin, long, beautiful and unique, whence its name came. There are numerous Buddhist temples on the E'mei Mountain. The E'mei Mountain has been listed into the World's Heritage Records by UNESCO. More on Emei Mountain

Jiuhuashan Mountain: Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Buddhist Field

The Jiuhua Mountain is located within the borders of Qingyang County, Anhui Province. There are numerous streams, waterfalls, exotic stones, ancient caves, grey pines, emerald bamboos, deep ponds, scenic areas and historic sites in the mountain, thus being reputed as "the first mountain in the southeast". More on Jiuhuashan Mountain

Buddist Grottos and Cliffside Statues

Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes

The Dunhuang Mogao Grotto is located at the mounth of a precipice at the east foot of the Singing Sand (Mingsha) Mountain twenty five kilometers southeast of Dunhuang City. Popularly called the Ten Thousand Buddha Grotto. The grotto preserves 492 grottos, 45000 square meters of wall paintings and 2415 colored sculptures of ten dynasties In 1987, the Mogao Grotto was listed into the World's Heritage Records by UNESCO. More on Mogao Grottoes

Yungang Grottoes

The Yungang Grotto, one of four ancient treasuries of grotto art in China, is located at the foot of the Wuzhou Mountain ten kilometers away from Datong City, Shanxi Province. There are mainly fifty three grottos and more than fifty thousand statues existent in the Yungang Grottoes. More on Yungang Grottoes

Longmen Grottoes

Longmen Grotto is located along the Yi River twelve kilometers south of Luoyang City. There are
more than 2100 grotto niches containing now more than one hundred thousand statues of Buddha, more than three thousand and six hundred inscribed steles and more than forty Buddhist pagodas. More on Longmen Grottoes

Duzu Stone Carvings

The Duzu Stone Carvings has more than fifty thousand Cliffside statues. It is well known for its extensive subject matter, rich content and exquisite craftship. The Dazu Stone Carvings is in Duzu County of Chongqing City. It is 130 kilometers away from the center of Chongqing City. More on Dazu Carvings

Kezi'er Grotto

The Kezi'er Grotto is located about sixty kilometers southeast of Baicheng County in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is the earliest grotto complex and a key historical and cultural relic under the state-level protection in China. Chiseled between cliffs of the Mingwudage Mountain on the north bank of the Muzhati River, it is distributed in the four areas of Guxi, Gunei, Gudong and Houshan. There are now 236 numbered grottos, of which the earliest was chiseled in the fourth century and the latest was built in the eighth century. The Kezi'er Grotto is well known for its early introduction of Buddhism into China and its archaic style of the Guici State in the western regions. Also because has numerous grottos and beautiful wall paintings, it ranks with the Dunhuang Grotto, the Yungang Grotto and the Longmen Grotto as the four largest grottos in China.

Maiji Mountain Grotto

The Maiji Mountain Grotto as one of the four famous grottos in China is located in the Maiji Mountain scenic area and historic site. It is 45 kilometers away from Tianshui City.

The Maiji Mountain Scenic Area is in the eastern section of the north branch of the West Qin Range. Covering a total area of 215 square kilometers, it includes the four scenic areas of the Maijin Mountain, the Immortal's Cliff, the Stone Gate and the Curved Steam as well as the Jieting ancient town. Of them the most famous one is the Maiji Mountain Grotto, which has 194 grottos, more than 7000 clay sculptures and stone carved statues and more than 1300 square meters of wall paintings. It especially excels in the art of clay sculpture. Hence, it is reputed as "the oriental sculpture art hall". The Maiji Mountain Grotto has the most graceful sceneries among numerous grotto Buddhist temples in China. It is most famous for the Seven Buddha Pavilion, the Ten Thousand Cave, the Niuji Hall and Ji Tomb, etc. The clay sculptures capture the spirit of the figures by means of lifelike imagery and reflect thorough common customs and a thick spice of life. The technique of sculpture drawing is to paint it with different colors and thus have distinct characteristics.

Leshan Grand Buddha

The Leshan Grand Buddha is at the foot of the Lingyun Mountain to the east of Leshan City and at the confluence of the Minjiang River, the Qingyijiang River and the Dadu River. The Grand Buddha is the largest stone-carved statue of Buddha in the world. It is 71 meters in total height, 28 meters in the width of the shoulder, 14.7 meters in the height of the head, 7 meters in the length of the ears and 5.6 meters in the length of the nose. The space in the ear can hold two standing people and the instep can seat more than 100 people around it.The Leshan Grand Buddha has been listed into the World's Heritage Records by UNESCO. More on Leshan Grand Buddha

Famous Buddhist Temples

Potala Palace

The Potala Palace is located on the Maburi Mountain in the northwest of Lhasa , Tibet . It is the landmark of Tibet highland. More on Potala Palace.

Shaolin Temple

The Shaolin Temple on the Song Mountain, the middle ancient mountains, is a place with a galaxy of talents and a great number of Buddhist temples. It is most famous for Shaolin martial art. Located at the west foot of the Song Mountain to the northwest of Dengfeng County, it is the earliest Buddhist temple of Zen Buddhism in our country. More on Shaolin Temple

Jokhang Temple

Located in the center of Lhasa old city, the Jokhang Temple was built after Songtsan Gambo married a princess of Nepal in 647. It has a history of more than one thousand and three hundred years. After the contruction of the Jokhang Temple, almost all the Tibetan kings of past dynasties frequently presented offerings in worship. More

Sera Temple

As one of the three temples of Lhasa, the Sera Temple was built in 1419 by Shi Jiayi, who is a disciple of Master Zong Kaba, the founder of the Ge Lu Sect (Yellow Sect). The number of monks in the Sela Temple once reached 5500 in the history. Japanese Duotiandenguan and Hekouhuihai once also cultivated themselves here. Now it is equal to a Buddhist university like the Zhebang Temple. More

Ta'er Monastery

The Ta'er Temple, which is located in Sha'er Town of Huangzhong County, is one of the six Buddhist temples of the Ge Lu Sect (Yellow Sect) of Lamaism in China. The whole temple is a building complex with combined Tibetan and Han arts. Covering an area of more than 40 hectares, it is composed of large and small buildings such as the Grand Golden-tiled Hall, the Small Golden-tiled Hall, the Grand Scripture Hall and the Nine-room Palace.

Yonghe Lama Temple

The Yonghe Temple is located in the northeast corner of the urban areas of Beijing City. In the 33rd year of Kangxi's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1694), Emperor Kangxi built a mansion here and granted it to his fourth son, Prince Yong. More

Buddhist Scenic Area of Southern Buddhism

The Buddhist temples in the area of Hinayana Buddhism in Yunnan are generally composed of a grand hall, a Buddhist pavilion and a Buddhist pagoda. The Buddhist temples and Buddhist pagodas, which combine the characteristics of the Buddhist temples in Tailand, Burma and the area of Han Nationality with those of the buildings of national minorities in Yunnan , has a unique style. The Guangyunmian Temple in Lincang Area, the Mange Buddhist Temple in Shishuangbannan Area, the Manfeilong Buddhist Pagada and the Jingzhen Octagonal Pavilion are all famous scenic areas.