Nine stories

Nine stories

The nine storey building, 45 meters high, is built on the cliff. It is located in the middle of the Shangsi Grottoes in Mogao Grottoes. Inside it is the world's largest indoor cross legged statue of Maitreya Buddha.

The nine story building has undergone several redevelopments. At the beginning, there were only two floors, until the period of the Republic of China, it was rebuilt into nine floors. The magnificent building with red cornice we see now was reinforced and repaired by Dunhuang Research Institute in 1986.

brief introduction

Built close to the mountains and with towering eaves, the symbol of this art palace, you can walk into the nine storey building and get in close contact with the Mogao Grottoes.

As soon as you enter the Mogao Grottoes, the first thing you can see is the tallest building in the cave. It is also the 96th cave of the Mogao Grottoes, which is traditionally called the "Great Buddha Hall".

The Buddha was built in the Tang Dynasty, so the statue of Maitreya is very rich and round, typical of the Tang Dynasty style. It is said that when Wu Zetian was in power, in order to consolidate her throne, she publicized to the people that she was the incarnation of Maitreya Bodhisattva. Therefore, we can still find many female characteristics in the statues of that time, which is influenced by the background of that time.

traffic

The bus from Dunhuang city to Mogao Grottoes departs from Dunhuang Hotel at the north of the bus station and the intersection of western regions. It goes to Mogao Grottoes via Silk Road Hotel and Dunhuang railway station. It starts at 8:30 a.m. and runs every 30 minutes. The ticket price is 8 yuan. The last bus from Mogao Grottoes back to the city is 18:00

Address: 25 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang City, on the cliff at the east foot of Mingsha mountain and the West Bank of Dangquan river

Longitude: 94.809133317791

Latitude: 40.041457303746