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Buddhist carvings found on cliff
CCTV.com, May 6, 2009
Ningxia Hui, China -- Four cliff carvings of Buddhist images have been discovered in a remote spot in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Experts say the discovery sheds new light on the development of Buddhism in China.
The carvings are in the Helan Mountain region, an ancient route that once linked Ningxia and Inner Mongolia. Archeologists found four images of Buddha inscribed on a cliff. The biggest is nine meters high and six meter wide. Sanskrit inscriptions were found beside the images.Four cliff carvings of Buddhist images have been discovered in a remote spot in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
Four cliff carvings of Buddhist images have been discovered in a remote spot in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
Experts from the local cultural heritage authority have concluded that these Buddhist images were carved in the Ming Dynasty some four hundred years ago.
The history of Buddhist carving in China goes back over one thousand years to a time when Buddhism was becoming popular. From the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, monks used to travel along the Helan Mountain route to spread Buddhism into Inner Mongolia. They paused to leave these inscriptions during their long journeys.
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