The 400 or so buddhist carvings in this cave date from the Tang and Song Dynasties. We thought them quite beautiful, though many were damaged during the Cultural Revolution. The good side is that there are still many of them in relatively good shape.

Many (if not most) of the ancient relics of dynastic as well as buddhist China were destroyed by Mao's Cultural Revolution. For being the largest population of what were once Buddhists, China has far fewer remaining temples, statues, murals, tapestries, carvings, art in general than relatively tiny little countries such as Thailand or Laos. This dearth of continuity, brought about consciously by the megalomania of one man in power, is one of the greatest disappointments imaginable.