Bizaklik Thousand-Buddha Caves
The Bizaklik Thousand-Buddha Caves, 48 kilometers northeast of the Turpan urban area, are
located in the Flaming Mountains' Mutou Valley.They were called the Ningrong Grottoes in
the Tang dynasty. There are 77 numbered grottoes, about 40 of which still have murals in
them.The group of grottoes in Bizaklik, with a total of 1,200 square meters of murals, has
the most grottoes, most diversified architectural styles and the richest mural content in
the Turpan area. The oldest grottoes were hewn in the period of Qushi Gaochang from the
Tangdynasty right up to the Yuan dynasty in the thirteenth century. It was an important
Buddhist gathering place. Its most prosperous period was under the reign of the Xizhou
Huigu government, which was built the royal temple of the King of existing grottoes were
extended or reconstructed during the Huigu period.
