Maiji-shan Buddhist Grottos in the Qinling Mountains, Gansu

Maiji-shan
Western-most holy mountain of the Qinling Range
southern Gansu Province, West of Xian

Màijī-shān 麥積山 [Barley-Accumulation Mountain, Simplified 麦积山; Maekjeok-san in
Korean; 麥 can also be "wheat" or "grain", and 積 can also be "stack" or "mound"], with a 1,742-
meter summit, is compact mountain in far-southern Gansu Province, far
west of Xian City. It is the westernmost sacred site in the Qínlǐng Range.

It features ancient Buddhist silk-road grotto-carvings, known as the Màijī-
shān Shíkū 麥積山石窟, a series of 194 caves cut in the side of the steep
east-face and west-face cliffs. They contain over 7,200 Buddhist sculptures and over
1,000 square meters of murals. Construction is believed to have begun in the late 300s under a
Xiongnu barbarian kingdom. In 421 CE, a pair of senior monks, first Tanhung and then Xuangao,
arrived here and starteda devotional monastic community that grew to 300 members. The complex
flourished during the Tang, Song and Ming dynasties, with new grottoes built and old ones being
renovated (espectially after damage by earthquakes) with new sculptures, right on into the Qing era.
The Maiji-shan Grottoes are a popular (tho remote) tourist and pilgrimage destination today.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites "Maijishan Scenic Spots" Tentative Proposal.