Bingling Si is an area in Gansu Province that has deeply set religious roots and attracts many of its visitors with its collection of caves, caverns and grottos.
The Bingling Si Caves sit close to the large city of Lanzhou and are full of examples of cave art that was drawn by Buddhists. The caves are particularly challenging to get to and thanks to their inaccessibility they have remained undamaged and unspoiled by curious visitors.
There are also interesting grottos that are carved into the side of Xiaojishi Mountain along with caves and the whole area dates back to the Tang Dynasty. There are almost 700 stone statues and 82 clay statues plus 200 crevices that are covered in murals.
Bingling Si Temple is also a set of caves situated on the Yellow River and the Liujiaxia Reservoir. Over time natural erosion, earthquakes and thieves have destroyed many parts of the grottos and caves and there are many walkways that make exploring the area easy on foot.
Getting There & Away
The nearest airport is situated in Lanzhou, which is a 4-hour journey from Bingling Si: 2 hours by road and 2 hours by ferry. There are regular flights between Lanzhou and Beijing that take 1 hour, 30 minutes and Lanzhou is 80kms from Bingling Si.