Wanfotang Grottos

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The Wanfotang Grottos 万佛堂石窟 are located on the northern banks of Daling River in Wanfotang Village, nine kilometers northwest of Yixian County 义县, Liaoning Province.
Built in the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534), the carvings constitute the biggest and oldest grotto group in Northeast China. Divided into two sections, the grotto group has nine grottos in the east and seven in the west. The No.5 Grotto in the west has inscriptions from 499, the period of the Northern Wei Dynasty. The grotto roof was carved with thousands of small Buddha. Among the grottos in the west, the No.1 Grotto is the largest and oldest, although all of its interior carvings have been eroded and can no longer be identified. The No.6 Grotto is very large, but its front has been destroyed, leaving only a cross-legged Buddha statue behind. There are relief sculptures of small Buddha, images of lotus flowers and flying Apsaras carved on the grotto walls and ceilings in the west section.
While the grottos in the east have been severely damaged, there are wall inscriptions about the construction of the grottos from 502 of the Northern Wei Dynasty in the No.5 Grotto providing important records for the study of the early Khitan ethnic group and references for the study of the history of the Wanfotang Grottos.