Xiangtangshan Grottoes

I have always wanted to visit the Xiangtangshan Grottoes, and I finally made the trip this week. Despite the uncooperative weather, I went anyway. In fact, I set out on Friday night, which gave me plenty of time. I didn't get to visit the Nuwa Palace or the ancient city of Guangfu. I personally think Handan is quite nice. The city is clean, with good greenery, and the food is economical. Vegetarian buns cost one yuan each, and the street vendors' steamed dumplings are 10-15 yuan per steamer. The noodles are indeed quite salty, which is due to the addition of broad bean sauce; the local taste tends to be strong. There are many snacks available at Xuebu Bridge, with spicy hot pot being particularly popular, and the sesame sauce is good. We stayed opposite Congtai Park, and it was a very short walk to the park and Xuebu Bridge. We set out for Xiangtangshan on Sunday morning. Perhaps due to the weather, there weren't many people, and the environment was very pleasant. I chatted with the staff who said that before, no one came and it was all dusty, but now it's much better. Due to the weather, it was very dark inside the grottoes, so I only took a few direct photos. It's better to see and experience it with your own eyes. The cultural and creative store offers free stamping; just bring your own notebook. Nan Xiangtang is not far away, so I went there too. The damage inside is very severe, with only a few caves remaining. You can decide for yourself whether to visit.

Handan, Nanxiangtang Mountain Grottoes. There are not many grottoes, a total of seven holes, most of the Buddha statues have no Buddha heads, some are also made up later. The Nanxiangtang Mountain Grottoes flourished in the Northern Qi Dynasty, and it has a history of more than 1500 years. Most of the Buddha statues have been touched by later generations to become black and shiny. From the structure, only the seventh cave is a corridor surrounding the central Buddha statue column, and the rest are single rooms. The grottoes are desolate! Even if it is as hard as a stubborn stone, it can't withstand the butcher knife of time, let alone the hundred pounds of flesh of you and me? Let go, let go... Break away from it

The Xiangtangshan Grottoes are the largest existing treasure trove of stone carving art from the Northern Qi Dynasty in China. It belongs to the third phase of the Northern Dynasty stone carving art. In terms of carving art, it inherits the skills of the Northern Wei and Eastern Wei Dynasties, and initiates the new trend of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, thus creating a grotto art with Chinese national style and era characteristics. At that time, unknown Chinese artisans, based on mastering the traditional skills of their ancestors in painting, sculpture, architecture, etc., absorbed and integrated the techniques of Indian and Gandhara Buddhist sculpture art, and after the development of the first two phases, gradually blended into the traditional sculpture art of China. The form of the grottoes, the image of the statues, the face, the clothing, the patterns, etc., have basically completed the process of nationalization.

🗺 Overview of Xiangtangshan ❤️The Xiangtangshan Grottoes are listed as the first batch of cultural relics protection units and are also a must-see attraction in Handan. Due to inconvenient transportation and the need to climb more than 700 steps, there are not many tourists here, but it is suitable for appreciating art treasures in such a quiet environment. ❤️The Xiangtangshan Grottoes are located in the Fengfeng Mining Area of Handan City, and the grottoes were first excavated during the Northern Qi Dynasty. There are 16 existing grottoes, more than 450 cliff statues, more than 5000 large and small statues, and a large number of scriptures and inscriptions. The Xiangtangshan Grottoes are divided into North Xiangtangshan, South Xiangtangshan and Little Xiangtangshan. This article first introduces the North Xiangtangshan Grottoes, which has 9 caves, among which the Big Buddha Cave is the most shocking. ❤️Perhaps it is because you can watch and touch at close range, and there are few tourists. After seeing Mogao Grottoes and Yungang, I feel that Xiangtangshan Grottoes are more shocking and beautiful in comparison! ✨ ⭐️Xiangtangshan Grottoes are known as the fifth largest grottoes in China. Although the scale of the grottoes is not very large, the style of the grottoes is very unique, which can represent the art, culture and Buddhist history of the Northern Qi Dynasty. What is regrettable is that many Buddha heads in the grottoes have been stolen, and the damage is quite serious. However, it is precisely because of this that everything that exists now is more worth protecting for future generations, perhaps this is the charm of Xiangtangshan Grottoes. 🚩Tour tips: 🚙Travel mode: It is recommended to rent a car or self-drive. The Xiangtangshan Grottoes are located in the Fengfeng Mining Area, more than an hour's drive from Handan city. There is no direct public transportation. If you choose to take a taxi, it is not easy to call a taxi when returning. The parking lot at the entrance of the scenic spot charges 10 yuan a day for parking at will. 💴Tickets: Full price ticket 60 yuan/person, shuttle bus 40 yuan/person. If you do not take the shuttle bus, you need to climb the mountain for more than 40 minutes. The mountain is not particularly easy to climb, but it is worth it to slowly climb up and see the scenery! (Note that the 40 yuan for the shuttle bus is one-way up the mountain. If you are physically ok, it is not recommended to do it, it is a bit expensive.) You can buy tickets directly at the entrance of the scenic spot. 🕰Tour time: It is recommended to leave 2-3 hours to slowly appreciate the North Xiangtangshan! It's really worth it!!! Especially when the sun shines from outside the grottoes to the Buddha statues inside, it's super beautiful and shocking! 📌Tour order: North Xiangtangshan Grottoes-Changle Temple-South Xiangtangshan Grottoes Remember to go to Changle Temple after seeing the grottoes down the mountain, it is very shocking, and the Buddha heads are also stolen. 🤗Do some homework: It is recommended to watch the documentary 'Exploring Xiangtangshan Grottoes' before visiting, to simply understand the history and construction background of the grottoes, so that you can appreciate it more during the visit~

✨Touring on the National Day, the tranquility of fewer people, gives the feeling of stepping into a sister chapter of the Longmen Grottoes. The murals of the Xiangtang Temple Grottoes are brightly colored, like elves popping out of the stone, making people can't help but appreciate them carefully. ✨Every Buddha statue on the mural is lifelike, as if telling a thousand-year-old story. It makes people can't help but admire its artistic value. ✨Although the Xiangtang Mountain Grottoes have experienced more than 1400 years of wind and rain, the Buddha statues are still as bright as ever, extremely shocking. ✨But the traces of history cannot cover the light of these statues. They are like precious works of art, allowing every visitor to feel the charm of human art. 💰Ticket Guide: North Xiangtang Temple: ticket 88 yuan (including sightseeing car, there are shops inside, simple meals can be made) South Xiangtang Temple: ticket 14 yuan (no shops inside) 🕘Some of the stories about murals and sculptures in Teacher Chen Danqing's 'Partial' will give you a deeper understanding of these works of art. Before going to the Xiangtang Temple Grottoes, you can watch this program first, which will definitely give you a deeper understanding and appreciation of sculpture art. ✨If you are looking for a good place to visit around Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, then the Xiangtang Temple Grottoes are definitely worth exploring. Whether it is North Xiangtang Temple or South Xiangtang Temple, there are works of art worth stopping and appreciating waiting for you to discover.✨

⛰️In Handan, Hebei, the Xiangtangshan Grottoes, a royal grotto carved during the Northern Qi Dynasty, is a national project built with one-third of the country's wealth during this 'short-lived' dynasty of only 28 years. It can be said that all of them are classics, each grotto is more shocking than the last. ⛰️The Xiangtangshan Grottoes are divided into the north and south. The North Xiangtang is grand in scale and is the essence of the grottoes. The South Xiangtang is smaller in scale but exquisite in design. Both are worth seeing. It is regrettable that at least 120 Buddha heads in the grottoes have been scattered around the world, and the few remaining heads were not stolen because they are not original Northern Qi artifacts and 'worthless'. Of course, in addition to modern theft, the anti-Buddhist movement of the Northern Zhou Dynasty is also one of the reasons for the destruction of the Buddha statues. 🌈Grotto Highlights There are 16 grottoes remaining (9 in the north and 7 in the south) North Xiangtang🎫60, tour for 3 hours+; South Xiangtang🎫15, tour for 1 hour+; Half an hour between the two grottoes🚗; The most worth seeing grottoes: 📍The Great Buddha Cave and Sakyamuni Cave in North Xiangtang; 👉The Great Buddha Cave is the largest cave, with a central square column. The top of the column has the 'Gao Huan Tomb' recorded in the literature (Gao Huan: Emperor Shenwu of Northern Qi). When archaeologists opened the stone tomb at the top, it was already empty. The stone coffin bed components now housed in the Freer Gallery of Art in the United States are believed to possibly come from the Great Buddha Cave; 👉The highlights of the Sakyamuni Cave are the two Bodhisattvas at the entrance corridor, the style of the cave door and the door pillars; 📍The Thousand Buddha Cave and Scripture Carving Cave in South Xiangtang; 👉The lotus relief on the top of the Thousand Buddha Cave and the 8 flying apsaras; 👉The scriptures and details of the small Buddha statues in the Scripture Carving Cave; Many exquisite details are not in the Great Buddha, perhaps on the base, perhaps on the door lintel, perhaps in the corner of the cave wall; reserve a little more time to discover surprises