Binglingsi Upper Grottoes — Liujia Gorge Yellow River Cliffs
炳灵寺上寺 · Bingling Upper · Liujia Upper
Sixteen Kingdoms to Ming·Western Qin, Northern Wei, Western Xia, Tibetan, Ming·🇨🇳 Gansu Province, Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Yongjing County, Liujia Gorge Yellow River north bank, Dasigou Valley west cliff, China
About
About Binglingsi Upper Grottoes — Liujia Gorge Yellow River Cliffs
047), 35 km south Yongjing, Linxia, 100 km SW Lanzhou, comprising 183 caves across Western Qin (420 CE)–Ming in sandstone/conglomerate canyon along north bank of Yellow River, accessible only by reservoir shuttle boat then 206-step stairs. Upper cliffs hold the 27-m Tang Maitreya (8 m ear, tallest Bingling, analogous to Leshan but at canyon top) and Western Qin caves 19–20 with earliest mandala murals 420 CE, showing Hexi corridor Tibetan-Qiang syncretism downstream of Mati Si.
Lower cliffs Great Buddha ravine. UNESCO World Heritage as part of Silk Road Chang'an-Tianshan 2014 (Mogao group). Wenwu protection; reservoir isolates.
Why it mattersOnly Yellow River canyon grotto with Western Qin 420 earliest mandalas and Tang 27-m Maitreya, bridge to Mati Si conglomerate.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Maitreya identification Maitreya vs Vairocana
- 02Reservoir island isolation preservation vs loss
Theories
- 01Yellow River pilgrimage by boat as ritual ingress
- 02Tibetan-Qiang mandala syncretism
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.420 CE Western Qin (Qifu) founding; Maitreya Tang 680 CE
- Period
- Sixteen Kingdoms to Ming
- Culture
- Western Qin, Northern Wei, Western Xia, Tibetan, Ming
- Builders
- Linxia Qifu Xianbei and Hexi monks
- Purpose
- Yellow River pilgrimage gorge monastery between Lanzhou and Hezhou Tib Plateau gateway
- Abandoned
- Ming 1368 but worship continues
- Rediscovered
- 1908 Stein; 1924 Pelliot; 1953 Gansu Institution systematic
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
420 CE
Western Qin Cave 19 earliest
680 CE
Tang 27-m Maitreya upper cliff
2014
UNESCO Silk Road serial inscription
On the ground
Structures & features
35.8070° N · 103.0470° E · 1750 m · 2 mapped features
Upper Cliffs — Maitreya 27-m Giant (Cave 169 proxy)
giant maitreyaTang 27-m Maitreya carved on upper Dasigou cliff with 8-m ear, highest Bingling
35.8080° N · 103.0480° EUpper Cliffs — Wei Caves 19–20 Mandala Murals
mandala caveWestern Qin early caves 19–20 with mandala and jātaka murals, 420 CE earliest Bingling
35.8060° N · 103.0460° E