Grottos in Dali

CCTV.COM (06.13 2003 17:23)

    The grottos in Dali are one of China's most famous groups of grottos

    The grottos are deep in the mountains, about 25 kilometers from the county centre of Jianchuan. They're part of several temples, perched in the impossible positions on the stone mountain.

    Here you get to see how the emperor of Nazhao dynasty sits in his court more than one thousand years. It was the time of the Tang Dynasty in central China.

    The thousand-year-old grotto sculptures blend the influences of different Buddhist sects from Tibet, India, and Central China. This is because that Jianchuan is right on the ancient tea and horse route, a trade trail that once linked China and South Asia.

    In Shizhongsi temple, you could find statues of all kinds. For example, a Buddha with a distinctly non-Chinese-looking elephant keeper, kings of the Nanzhao dynasties, and a Buddha dressed apparently in the Bai people's traditional costume.

    All in all, the most extraordinary is this fertility carving of a woman's genitalia. It has turned black after years of people touching it and smearing it with oil, praying for anything to do with birth. This is probably the only place in the world where such kind of totem sits alongside Buddhist statues.

Editor:Han Ling