Ningxia, Guyuan City, Mount Sumeru Grottoes

The Mount Sumeru Grottoes began to be carved during the Taihe period of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and underwent large-scale construction during the Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, and Tang dynasties, as well as renovations and redecorations in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. It is the largest ancient Buddhist monastery and Zen institution in Guyuan and one of the top ten grottoes in China. There are currently 162 existing caves, distributed over eight naturally formed areas from south to north, namely the Great Buddha Tower area, Descendants' Palace area, Yuanguang Temple area, Xiangguo Temple area, Peach Blossom Cave area, Pine Tree Hollow area, Three Kiln area, and Black Stone Gully area; there are more than 500 well-preserved statues, 53 Han and Tibetan inscriptions, 3 steles, 13 fragments of steles, and over 20 square meters of murals; the total area covers 6 square kilometers.