Maiji Mountain is located about 45 kilometers southeast of Tianshui City, Gansu Province. It is a strange peak in the Xiaolong Mountain at the western end of the Qinling Mountains. The height of the mountain is only 142 meters. However, the shape of the mountain is peculiar. The isolated peak rises like a wheat stack. People call it Mai. Jishan.

To the southwest of the mountain peaks are cliffs, and the grottoes are cut on the cliffs, some 20 to 30 meters away from the mountain base and some 70 to 80 meters away. Hundreds of caves and Buddha statues dug on such steep cliffs are rare in our country's grottoes.

The Maiji Mountain Grottoes were built in the post-Qin period of the Sixteen Kingdoms. After more than ten dynasties including the Northern Wei Dynasty, Western Wei Dynasty, Northern Zhou Dynasty, Sui Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, Five Dynasties, Song Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, and Qing Dynasty, after more than 1,600 years of excavation and repair, the existing caves The niche, various statues and murals have attracted countless tourists.

It is a wonderful art on the ancient Silk Road, and it is also known as the four major grottoes in China with Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Yungang Grottoes in Shanxi, and Longmen Grottoes in Henan. Maijishan Grottoes are unique in their unique clay art.

The Maiji Mountain Grottoes are divided into east and west cliffs.

The caves of Dongya are the most exquisite, including Nirvana Cave, Thousand Buddha Corridor, and Seven Buddha Pavilions on the Sanhua Tower. In front of the Nirvana Cave, there are four stubby stone columns with lotus petal-shaped reliefs at the heads. There is no need for arches on the tops of the columns. Instead, they are replaced with relief "flame orbs". The design concept is extremely ingenious. This cliff pavilion was built in the late Northern Wei Dynasty , Is a treasure in the cave temple architecture. The Thousand Buddha Corridor is 32 meters long, and there are 258 stone statues of clay sculptures arranged neatly in two layers on the cliff wall. The expressions are different and lifelike.

West Cliff is home to the most valuable caves such as Ten Thousand Buddha Hall, Heaven Cave, Cave 121, Cave 123, Cave 127 and Cave 165. Wanfotang, also known as "Monument Cave", stepped into the door and faced a 3.5-meter-tall approaching Buddha, with his eyes closed slightly and his hands as a connecting posture. There are more than 30 clay sculptures in the cave. On the upper left side of the front wall, there are more than a thousand Buddha statues. There are many exquisitely made sculptures of Maitreya, Shami, and donors in the alcoves. Heaven Cave is the tallest grotto on the two cliffs. The cave is full of large stone sculptures. There is a statue in the middle, 1.95 meters high, two statues left and right, 1.28 meters high. Each statue weighs about two to three tons.

Strong national consciousness and secularization are the distinctive features of Maijishan statues. In addition to the early works, from the Northern Wei Dynasty statues, almost all Buddha statues have amiable faces. Although they are gods worshipped on earth, they are more like secular. People become the embodiment of people’s good wishes. From the point of view of the body shape and costume of the statue, the statue of Maijishan Grottoes is gradually getting rid of the influence of foreign art, reflecting the characteristics of the Han nationality and achieving a characteristic of national integration.

According to research, the Maiji Mountain Grottoes also had a large number of murals, but due to rain and humidity, most of the murals peeled off. What is still preserved today can prove this fact, and these existing murals also show the social situation at that time and the secularization process of Buddhist art in China to a great extent.

Maijiyanyu is also a very special landscape of Maijishan Grottoes, but you need enough luck to see such a scene. With so many introductions, aren't you going to Tianshui yet? Editor/He Yuting