holy mountain, a photo from Ningxia, Centre

Photographer's Note

Along the old Silk Road there are many holy mountains, where monks carved out buddha statues in grottoes and on mountain sides. The most famous are in Dunhuang (in western Gansu) and more to the east in Datong and Longmen. But there are many, many more.

On our last trip we visited some of the lesser visted mountains. Having climbed Maji Shan at the beginning of our trip, Xumi Shan was our last stop on our way back to Xi'an.

Xumi Shan isn't featured on this site yet, so here's some info...

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Xumi Shan is located in the south of Ningxia, a small and pretty remote muslim province, south of Inner Mongolia. The name Xumi is a translation of the Sanskrit term 'sumeru', which stands for buddhist paradise. Shan just means 'mountain' in Chinese.

In total there are more than 130 caves with statues, but the only one that really stands out is the giant seated buddha in cave number 3, which is the one you see here. Most statues date back some 1400 years, from the Northern Wei to the Sui and Tang dynasties. For a closer view of Xumi Shan's main statue, see the WORKSHOP.

We visited the site from Guyuan town. There's a daily bus back from Guyuan to Xi'an.

This picture was taken from the other side of the little canyon that seperates the holy mountain from a relatively new and quite interesting museum on the site.

Not many visitors, but as with all things in China, that might change quick.

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song title reference: Sleep

worldcitizen, ChrisJ trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

everlasting (19680) 2015-12-22 5:34

That's quite a feature they have made of the mountain. The tiny persons walking past the yellow wall gives it all scale.

Sergiom (117241) 2015-12-22 6:00

Bonjour Benny

Toujours une bonne idée de creuser les flancs d'une montagne pour y sculpter une forme aussi impressionnante. Bel endroit pour un pèlerinage.J'aime bien cette ligne jaune qui coupe l'image en deux.

Amicalement

Serge

lousat (138669) 2015-12-22 8:41

Waaw Benny,what a spectacular place,i never seen before a pic from there.Very interesting post,the big sculpture in the mountain reminds me a lot Petra in Jordan,and the green scenery around too is very very magic,i like it! Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

unclehotshot (4004) 2015-12-22 9:17

Hello Benny.
Cracking panoramic take of a pretty impressing Buddha!
I think your long range POV offers a perfect view of the scenario; to get the bearings and understand the sizes and scales. The yellow wall along the road is grand with the red rock and the green line of trees. Like a cake with layers and Buddha on top like a cherry. Smart to let us have a peep at the deep canyon low left.
Super nice.
Cheers Frank

jemaflor (146360) 2015-12-22 9:37

Hi Benny,
interesting view taken for a perfect POV, nice statue on the slope of the hill, beautiful colors and sharpness, tfs.

Tue (91648) 2015-12-22 14:24

Hallo Benny,
Prachtige foto van deze berg en het enorme beeldhouwwerk dat erin uitgehouwen is. De grillige vormen van de rotswanden eromheen zijn ook heel mooi en het contrast tussen de rode en groene tinten is aantrekkelijk.
Lars

Nicou (193806) 2015-12-23 1:02

Hello

quelle vue avec la bande jaune qui ressort superbe quelle couleur de cette roche ocre rouge superbe et la statue gravée dans la roche dans la cavité superbe compo
Belle journée
Nicou

Cricri (176) 2015-12-23 8:33

Bonjour Benny
Fantastique sculpture creusée dans la roche, excellent POV et couleurs
belle soirée
cricri

abmdsudi (95869) 2015-12-23 23:30

Hi Benny
A fine landscape and thanks to your enlightening narratives. Amazing piece of a huge religious sculpture embedded in the rugged land mass! lovely especially the way you've included a good volume of the foreground, the natural colours and textures beautifully. I liked your WS post as well, especially more because of the soft light and its mammoth scale.
Good work! Congrats

Wishing you a Very Happy Christmas.
Best regards

dekanski (9283) 2015-12-28 12:37

Hi Benny,

I have no complaints, except one - I think the portrait format would be betterto, to be able to see the whole "clif" in the foreground

Regards,
Saša

jmdias (114340) 2016-01-13 15:03

benny

interesting localization of the sculpture, ate same time near a deep gorge and at side of a highway. nice view of the area and its details. TFS this different side of china.
hugs

jorge