Bingling Temple World Heritage Tourist Area, Gansu province
(炳灵寺世界文化遗产旅游区 bǐng líng sì shì jiè wén huà yí chǎn lǚ yóu qū)

Location: Yongjing county, Linxia Hui autonomous prefecture, Gansu province
Scenic Spot Level: AAAAA
Opening Hours:
9:00-17:00 (Closed Mondays)
Ticket Price:
Bingling Temple Grottoes: 50 yuan ($7.74)/person
Notes:
1. Children under the age of 14 (exclusive) and senior citizens aged 65 and above, people who have a disability, and servicemen can enter free of charge.
2. Half-price concessions are available for minors aged between 14 (inclusive) and 18 (exclusive), senior citizens aged between 60 and 65, and full-time university undergraduates.

The huge Buddha carved on the cliff along the Yellow River, Bingling Temple, Northwest China's Gansu province [Photo provided to gogansu.com]

Located in Northwest China's Gansu province, the Bingling Temple World Heritage Tourist Area covers 150 square kilometers. It is home to the Stone Grottoes of Bingling Temple (a component of the World Heritage of the Silk Road: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor), the Bingling Stone Forest, the Bingling Lake (the largest artificial freshwater lake in northwestern China), and the Yellow River Hydropower Expo Park.

The tourist area lies along the most charming section of the upper reaches of the Yellow River, with stunning and magnificent natural scenery and splendid civilization. Thanks to its places of interest integrating ancient and modern culture, the Bingling Temple World Heritage Tourist Area has become a good place for ecological tourism, science education, and leisurely vacations.

The Bingling Lake in the Bingling Temple World Heritage Tourist Area, Northwest China's Gansu province [Photo provided to gogansu.com]

As the largest stone grottoes in Gansu province, the Bingling Temple Grottoes are a world cultural heritage with a history stretching back more than 1,600 years, a national foremost protected cultural heritage site, and one of the six famous stone grottoes in China.

Buddhist statues in a cave of the Bingling Temple Stone Grottoes [Photo provided to gogansu.com]

Established 1,600 years ago, the temple boasts 216 extant grottoes, 815 stone statues, 1,000-square-meter murals, 56 stupas, and 438 cultural relics. In particular, the earliest of China's well-preserved statue inscription dating back to 420 during the Western Qin State was discovered in the No 169 grotto. This grotto's inscription, statues, and murals provide reliable evidence for the confirmation of the history of the Bingling Temple Grottoes and the early stone statues in China.

With the grotto murals and stone statues of different historical periods, the Bingling Temple Grottoes are dubbed "the encyclopedia of stone grottoes" and have historical, artistic, and academic value arising from the development of stone grottoes and sculpture art in China.