Tianlongshan Grottoes

The Tianlongshan grottoes lie on the slopes of a hill west of Taiyuan, in caves cut along the south-facing rock of the mountain's eastern and western peaks. The Chinese account dates the first cutting to the late Northern Wei and the Eastern Wei, and the English reference to the Northern Qi through the Tang. What survives is best known for its Tang sculpture, with soft modelling and drapery that has been compared with Gandhara. In the 1920s much of that sculpture was sold abroad, and a research project begun in 2013 has been recording the missing pieces and digitally rebuilding the caves.