Atlas of China
Bingling Temple Grottoes 炳灵寺石窟Bǐnglíng Sì Shíkū
5A scenic area · National heritage site · Linxia, Gansu
- Time needed
- 1 day
- Days to budget
- 1 day
- City
- Linxia
- Region
- Gansu
- Type
- Heritage
- Listed as
- 5A scenic area, National heritage site
About Bingling Temple Grottoes
Buddhist caves and niches carved over some 1,600 years into the red sandstone cliffs of the Dasi gully on the north bank of the Yellow River, in the Xiaojishi Mountains 35 km south-west of Yongjing county town; Cave 169, with an inscription of 420 under the Western Qin, is described by the site's conservation institute as the earliest dated cave in China. About 216 caves and niches survive with more than 800 statues and some 1,000 m² of murals in both Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist styles, the largest figure being a seated Tang Maitreya 27 m high, and the site is part of the Silk Roads World Heritage listing of 2014. The 5A tourism area also takes in the Liujiaxia Dam and reservoir and the Bingling Stone Forest of red sandstone pinnacles, part of the Linxia UNESCO Global Geopark since 2024.
How to get to Bingling Temple Grottoes
Speedboats and tour boats cross the Liujiaxia Reservoir from the visitor centre beside Liujiaxia Dam in Yongjing county town, about 1.5 hours by road west of Lanzhou; a road via Wangtai also reaches the site.
Nearby
Also within 20 km: Liujiaxia International Paragliding Camp 刘家峡国际滑翔营地 (under 10 km).
On the map
Open Bingling Temple Grottoes on the illustrated map to see the terrain around it and what else is close, and to add it to a trip.
Open Bingling Temple Grottoes on the map