IFreeing.

Along the Yellow River and beyond

Explore the regional map

Explore every city and autonomous prefecture in this edition. Each has its own places and a complete article library.

Gansu
Lanzhou Jiayuguan Jiuquan Zhangye Jinchang Wuwei Baiyin Tianshui Pingliang Qingyang Dingxi Longnan Linxia Gannan Zhongshan Bridge Mogao Caves Maijishan Grottoes Labrang Monastery Giant Buddha Temple

Approximate regional orientation · north is up · not for navigation

Some stories describe broad landscapes, distributed practices or events rather than one verifiable point. They remain available through their city or prefecture; no marker is inferred.

Natural EarthWikidata contributors© OpenStreetMap contributorsMapcarta
English
Menu

Tiantishan Grottoes

Tiantishan Grottoes, also called Liangzhou grottoes, stand in Dengshan Village, Zhangyi Town, Liangzhou District, south of Wuwei. Wuwei's government tourism portal lists them as a nationally protected key site in Zhangyi Town. A 2025 report republished by the provincial culture site dates the start to the Northern Liang in the Eastern Jin and Sixteen Kingdoms period and says Cave 13, the largest opening today, holds a seated Shakyamuni figure about twenty-eight metres high above the reservoir water.

The cliff and monumental Buddha at Tiantishan Grottoes. Photo credit: Liu Zongxin.
Tiantishan Grottoes

Stories

The cliff and monumental Buddha at Tiantishan Grottoes. Photo credit: Liu Zongxin.

The Buddha above Huangyang River Reservoir

At Tiantishan near Wuwei, a large seated Buddha looks over the reservoir from the cliffside grottoes. The site is also known as the Liangzhou Grottoes and is associated with the Northern Liang period.

Read
Photo credits and rights
  1. Tiantishan Grottoes刘宗新 · Rights status not determined Photo source ↗ Orientation normalised, proportionally resized and encoded as WebP; no crop or retouch.