nine floors - China Travel

introduce

The nine-storey building is the tallest building in Mogao Grottoes. It is customarily called "Great Buddha Hall", and it is also the 96th cave of Mogao Grottoes.

The nine-story building is 45 meters high and built on the cliff. It is located in the middle of the Shangsi Grottoes in Mogao Grottoes. Inside is the world's largest indoor statue of Maitreya Bodhisattva sitting cross-legged. The construction date of this giant Buddha is recorded in the Tang Dynasty, so the statue of Maitreya Bodhisattva is very plump and round, typical of the Tang Dynasty style. It is said that when Wu Zetian was in power at that time, in order to consolidate her throne, she advertised to the people that she was the incarnation of Maitreya Bodhisattva, so we can still find many female features in the statues at that time, which was influenced by the background of the time.

The nine-story building has undergone several reconstructions before and after. From the beginning, there were only two floors, and it was not until later that it was rebuilt into nine floors. The majestic building with red cornices seen now was re-enhanced and repaired by the Dunhuang Research Institute in 1986.