Brief Introduction
Situated 67 kilometers west of Kucha County, the Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves is the oldest of its kind in China and the largest ruins of Buddhist culture in Xinjiang.

It is also the second largest treasure house of mural paintings the world over, next only to the Dunhuang Grottoes in Gansu Province. There are now 236 numbered grottoes in this cave, which houses nearly 10,000 square meters of mural paintings.

The caves are said to be the earliest major Buddhist cave complex in China, with development occurring between the 3rd and 8th centuries. Although the site has been both damaged and looted, at least 1000 square meters of wall paintings--mostly Jataka stories--remain.Undoubtedly, The Kizil Thousand-Buddha Caves are considered to be art crystallization of the local tradition and of the central Chinese culture as well as foreign ones.

This priceless encyclopedia of Qiuci culture depicted in the caves surely deserves worthwhile reading!