Kizil Caves

These stone caves, found on a broken cliff on the northern bank of the Muzhati River in Baicheng County, are one of the four greatest Buddhist grottoes groups in China. They were built toward the end of the 3rd century. The caves are distributed over a distance of two kilometers from east to west and divided into four sections: western gully, central gully, eastern gully and backside of the mountain. Most of the caves belong to the "central pillar" type with rectangular arched ceilings. Most of the frescoes in the caves were painted in rhombus-shaped framed. The most famous frescoes are those depicting celestial bodies and heavenly entertainers. Frescoes painted in later years bear "1,000-Buddha" scenes worshiped by the Mahayana sector of Buddhism. Many frescoes depict benefactors of the grotto construction. These human portraits demonstrate the life of the people living tin the ancient kingdom of Qiuci. They are precious reference material for the study of the Qiuci society.