Grottoes reopened to welcome back tourists

With preventative measures in place, Yungang Grottoes, the globally renowned historical site and tourist destination in Datong, Shanxi province, reopened to sightseers on March 1.

The site had been closed since Jan 25 in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak in the country.

According to a proposal released by the National Cultural Heritage Administration on Feb 27, the country's cultural and historical sites are suggested to open gradually according to the risk level in their areas.

Datong, where the Yungang Grottoes is located, is a low-risk city recognized by the Shanxi provincial government, so the site has reopened to tourists.

Yao Jie and Zhao Xu were the first two tourists welcomed at the scenic spot since its re-opening.

"The weather is lovely with a blue sky and the lake in front of the caves is as bright as a mirror with thin ice," Yao said. He added that he feels privileged to be able to visit the globally renowned attraction with only few others, as it is usually crowded year-round.

According to the administration of the scenic spot, Yungang received 130 visits on March 1.

Wang Yanxiang, Party secretary of the administration, said he believes the number of visitors will grow gradually as the epidemic subsides and the weather gets warmer.

He Jianguo, deputy chief of the administration, said the scenic spot is not currently open to tour groups.

He said the site will be free to medical workers throughout the country, to give them thanks for their contributions to fighting against the novel coronavirus epidemic.

Located at the southern foot of Wuzhou Mountain, some 16 kilometers west of Datong city, the Yungang Grottoes is one of the three famous Buddhist cave clusters in China.

Comprising 252 caves and 51,000 statues within a carved area of 18,000 square meters, the Yungang Grottoes represents the outstanding achievement of Buddhist cave art in China during the 5th and 6th centuries. The Five Caves created by famous monk Tan Yao in 453, with their strict unity of layout and design, constitute classical masterpieces of the first peak of Chinese Buddhist art.

While influenced by Buddhist cave art from South and Central Asia, the Yungang Grottoes combines Buddhist cave art with distinctive Chinese character and local spirit. As a result, the grottoes played a vitally important role among early Oriental Buddhist grottoes and had a far-reaching impact on Buddhist cave art in China and East Asia.

The Yungang Grottoes was added to the World Cultural Heritage List in December 2001.

Li Yali contributed to this story.