Cave 9

Cave 9 and cave 10 are a group of double caves. They are the two caves with the most Temple flavor in Yungang Grottoes. Moreover, the two caves are characterized by columns in the front hall. The front halls of the two caves each have two open-ended stone pillars. The pillars are octagonal in shape, each with ten layers of Buddha's head carved on its surface. Under the pillars are carved Xumi seats, which are placed on the base of the pillars. The base of the pillars is an elephant. Unfortunately, the sculpture on the outside of the column and the elephant head on the base of the column have been completely weathered, which can no longer show the magnificent scene of that year. The outer halls of the two caves are divided by two columns, forming a layout of three bays. The sculptures of the outer halls are extremely exquisite and luxurious. The arrangement of the interior space of the front room directly reflects the layout principle of the double grottoes. The plane is rectangular. The back chamber is similar to caves 7 and 8. The East, North and west walls of the front room are about 10 meters high, and the planning is neat. The horizontal lotus petal zone divides the three walls into upper and lower layers, corresponding to the sequence of the back chamber. The arrangement of Buddhist treasures in the East, West and North walls clearly reflects the significance of the double grottoes.

The west wall of cave 9 and the east wall of cave 10 are two sides of the same partition wall. The roof shaped niches on the upper layer of the two walls, the left and right columns, the sitting statue of the cross legged Buddha in the middle, the Standing Statue of the Bodhisattva on the left and right, and the flying Apsaras on the top of the two walls are almost identical in form. secondly. On the east wall of cave 9 and the west wall of cave 10, the upper room shaped treasure and its left and right octagonal pillars, the central cross legged Bodhisattva sitting statue, and the two flanks serving the lower half of the first half Bodhisattva sitting statue are the same. In addition, the East-West two Buddha sitting niches in the upper layer, the East-West wing and arched lintel niches in the lower layer, and the left and right octagonal columns on the north wall of the two caves are also in the same form, but the main images are different. The building structure of the house shaped niche in the double Grottoes imitates the wooden structure with tile roof since the Han and Wei dynasties.

Address: at the foot of Wuzhou mountain, Datong City, Shanxi Province

Longitude: 113.13492

Latitude: 40.112926

Tel: 0352-3029625

Chinese PinYin : Ku