Bingling Yes, China

The Canyon of a Thousand Buddhas


double yellow
Motorboat navigates in a mountainous meander of the Yellow River, about to reach the dock at Bingling Si.
Buddhas for all tastes
Some of the many Buddhas excavated in the Canyon of a Thousand Buddhas.
On my way
Chinese boatman contemplates the parched scenery around the Yellow River.
the weight of age
Maitreya Buddha sitting. 27 meters tall, 1200 years old and undergoing maintenance work.
faith in the heights
A small Buddhist shrine that hangs from the rock face of the Canyon of a Thousand Buddhas.
faith shelved
Buddha sculptures with hatches that protect them from erosion.
Exceptional vegetation
Trees lend the scenery a providential green.
single path
Walkway leads visitors along the long 1000 Buddha Canyon, along with its many sculptures.
For more than a millennium and at least seven dynasties, Chinese devotees have extolled their religious belief with the legacy of sculpture in a remote strait of the Yellow River. If you disembark in the Canyon of Thousand Buddhas, you may not find all the sculptures, but you will find a stunning Buddhist shrine.

It is with some relief that we leave the capital of the Chinese province of Gansu towards Bingling Si and its Canyon of Thousand Buddhas.

Even if we were fascinated by the uncharacteristic looks and manners of that strange city that the government of Beijing shaped modern and industrial, and the delicate coexistence of the predominant Han, Hui, and Zhan (Tibetan) ethnic groups, the hazy and dusty mess we had gotten ourselves into, without quite knowing how, began to disturb us.

Lanzhou evolved into the great petrochemical center in northwestern China. And to one of the most polluted cities on Earth. The smoke and noise produced by the first bus we got into, the second ones and the ones from the van that completed the grueling journey seemed to us to be a small thing.

From Lanzhou to the Yellow River

There, at the outset, the view of the vast Yellow proved to be far from what we expected for the pivotal and civilizational river in question, the third longest in Asia with almost 5500 km that crosses nine Chinese provinces.

We kept in our minds the image of ice skaters gliding gracefully over its stream solidified by months of atrocious winter. By the time of boarding, the summer had long since arrived at China. The near south of Gansu was swarming. Yellow himself flowed, at great speed, through the eccentric circuit of meanders that took him to the homonymous sea.

Indifferent to the macro scale of his place of work, when he detects us arriving, the boat owner only wants to see us on board, traveling along the stretch of river, despite the greenish name that guaranteed his livelihood.

Chinese boatman on the Yellow River, Gansu, China

Chinese boatman contemplates the parched scenery around the Yellow River.

A Chinese family approaches and inquires. We realized that they had the same intentions as us. We ended up dividing the vessel and the 400 yen that the owner had done everything to multiply.

The slight man, his face browned by the sun, installs us all, starts the engine and sets sail. For some time, we sailed along a shallow, parched bank that attracted little or nothing to our attention.

Before long, we enter a steep river loop surrounded by a range of sharp rock peaks.

The meander made Yellow stop. That almost pool of his reflected the cliffs in their entirety and doubled their monumentality. The launch we were following, like another rival, crossed the printed reproduction in the water at great speed.

Boat on the Yellow River, Gansu, China

Motorboat navigates in a mountainous meander of the Yellow River, about to reach the dock at Bingling Si.

Anchoring in the Hidden Domains of Bingling Si

Once that was over, we came across a large staircase that connected the level of the stream to an almost middle part of the cliffs. Seventy kilometers and four and a half hours after the early departure from Lanzhou. We finally dock in the mysterious domains of Bingling Si.

A modern portico crowned by small pagodas serves as a ticket office and entrance to the sanctuary. Payment completed, formalities completed, we proceed to the mouth of the Canyon of the Thousand Buddhas. We went through walkways, staircases and wooden platforms installed against its walls.

Bingling Si, Gansu, China

Walkway leads visitors along the long 1000 Buddha Canyon, along with its many sculptures.

It is on these same faces that we find the first of the many Buddha sculptures that made the place special. Some are framed in niches carved into the rock. They focus on individual representations, or multiplied by two or three Siddartha Gautama, illuminated by halos.

Others – several colored – group a greater number of characters in conviviality and certain situations. They appear numbered and equipped with lacy windows, wide open during visiting hours, closed just after sunset to ensure the preservation of the works.

A Gorge of the Strong Asian Buddhist Current

In stylistic and geographical terms, the temple of Bingling Si emerged in the wake of the Mogao Buddhist Caves that we had explored, in Dunhuang, in the far northwest of Gansu, just a few days earlier.

It emerged as a logical historical sequence and as an intermediate point between the ill-fated “Afghan” Buddhas of Bamiyan that the Taliban decreed idols and, by order of their Mullah Mohammed Omar, dynamited, in 2001, and the Buddhist caves of China Central.

By the time of the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD), Dunhuang, had become one of the most important outposts on the Silk Road.

Buddhist Shrine, Bingling Si, Gansu, China

Small Buddhist shrine hanging from the rock face of the Canyon of a Thousand Buddhas

On account of the Buddhist monks who had settled there, under the patronage of clergymen and merchants, the ruling families of the region, their military subjects and even the emperors of the China, Mogao received more and more paintings that adorned the biggest galleries.

It also housed the massive statues of Buddha that remain there, two of the many more that the Empress Tang Wu Zetian had built throughout the territory. Dunhuang Thus, it also assumed the role of Buddhism's main religious center and pilgrimage.

A Monastic Work Brought Through the Silk Road

The first of Bingling Si's sculptures must have been worked around 420 AD In the extension of what happened with Mogao, it was Buddhist monks and priests who arrived from Central Asia on the Silk Road who inaugurated the religious decoration of the Canyon of the Thousand Buddhas.

They carved figures with Indian bodies, faces, poses and costumes. With the precedent set in that new setting, successive caves were used or opened, each one endowed with its images of Buddha. The style of the new works evolved to reflect the art and reality characteristic of dynasties and eras.

Buddhas for Every Taste

Along the two hundred meters and different levels of the cannon, we appreciate dozens and dozens of creative and distinct versions of the ascetic sage born in Lumbini, in the current Nepal, a few hours by road from where we write this text.

Each one of them reveals itself in such a unique way that it was entitled to its own characters. Shakyamuni, Kwan-yin, Amitayus Buddha, Maitreya Buddha and several other Buddhas. We look at their elegant postures, the picturesque details of their clothing and even jewelry.

Buddha Sculptures, Bingling Si, Gansu, China

Some of the many Buddhas excavated in the Canyon of a Thousand Buddhas.

We admire the different environments portrayed by the surrounding frescoes, palm trees. There is no lack of a lying Buddha. Nearby, cave 169 houses the Dali Buddha (mighty), owner of a round and solemn face that seems to supervise everything from the top of his crossed legs.

He is flanked by two Bodhisattva assistants, recognizable by their entwined hair and waving bare arms. Both Dali Buddha and Bodhisattvas preserve very intense colors that enhance the vividness of their characters.

Shooting Is Not Planned But…

Photography was once permitted in Bingling Si. But, as in the caves of Mogao, the Chinese authorities banned it with the main purpose of preventing the international proliferation of commercial works they had pledged to monopolize.

This castration irritates us and most visitors, who arrive, as expected, armed with state-of-the-art cameras and smartphones. The Canyon of a Thousand Buddhas is, however, extensive and the guards succumb to the annoyance of the shifts.

Almost all visitors take advantage of their indifference and make the registrations that the ticket price was supposed to contemplate. Faithful to the photographic component of our exploration, for the supreme good of the reader and the traveler who accompanies us, we follow their example, without consequences. Buddhas are never opposed. It gives us the idea that vigilantes choose to ignore.

The Tang Emperors' Resistance to Anti-Buddhism

By the end of the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism, its temples, monasteries and other places of worship were so influential that they overshadowed Taoism and Confucianism that had long been prevalent in the world. China. In 845 AD, The Emperor and his entourage decide to combat the threat to their power that the new religion posed.

They had thousands of Buddhist temples and monasteries destroyed. Even so, in the following dynastic eras, work continued at Bingling Si. Many more caves and shrines were erected, notably the Mongol Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) in which Tibetan Buddhists endowed the lower section of the Canyon of a Thousand Buddhas of dozens of new caves.

The name Bingling itself is believed to be a transliteration of the Tibetan name for the place: "a thousand Buddhas." Over the centuries, earthquakes, simple erosion and looting have damaged or made disappear many of the caves, or at least their contents. Destruction, voluntary but probably necessary, has taken place even in our times.

The Capricious Flow of Yellow

A China and its Yellow River have always lived a bittersweet relationship. On the one hand, the river has been the foundation of the nation's civilizational success and continues to irrigate the lives and success of hundreds of millions of Chinese.

Stream in the Canyon of a Thousand Buddhas, Bingling Si, Gansu, China

Trees lend the scenery a providential green.

On the other hand, floods caused by the sudden increase in its hyperbolic flow caused too many catastrophes and loss of life. Aware of this setback, eager to increase Chinese electricity production, Beijing imposed the construction of several dams along the stream.

In 1969, the Liujiaxia plant was inaugurated, creating the largest body of water in Gansu Province, the Liujiaxia reservoir and China's largest hydroelectric power station. Countless families were forced to move elsewhere.

And around two hundred of the Buddhist caves or monuments were underwater. Buddhas are thus not a thousand, as the Tibetan name enunciates. According to one of the last counts, there are now 183 niches, 694 stone sculptures, 82 clay sculptures and around 900 m2 of well-preserved murals. Its preservation leaves us, moreover, frustrated.

Maitreya Buddha: after 1200 years, an operation that cannot be postponed

Following the exploration of the network of walkways and staircases, we soon realized that the Buddhist star of Bingling Si, a 27-year-old sitting Maitreya Buddha, was undergoing an intervention and was draped in scaffolding.

Maitreya Buddha in repairs, Bingling Si, Gansu, China

Maitreya Buddha sitting. 27 meters tall, 1200 years old and undergoing maintenance work.

According to what we investigated, it was almost that it escaped submersion and, over time, the natural agents and surreal religious fanaticism that led to the collapse of the “sister” statues of Bamiyan. We settle for that lesser evil and complete our photographic mission as best we can.

The summer afternoon was about to last but the complex would close shortly. There was no place to stay overnight in the vicinity so we had to complete all the way back. We didn't return to Lanzhou until ten at night. The surely lasting memory of Bingling Si rewarded us. A thousand Buddhas, probably fewer, had blessed this strenuous pilgrimage.

More tourist information about China at TravelChina.gov.

Dali, China

The Surrealist China of Dali

Embedded in a magical lakeside setting, the ancient capital of the Bai people has remained, until some time ago, a refuge for the backpacker community of travelers. The social and economic changes of China they fomented the invasion of Chinese to discover the southwest corner of the nation.
Tawang, India

The Mystic Valley of Deep Discord

On the northern edge of the Indian province of Arunachal Pradesh, Tawang is home to dramatic mountain scenery, ethnic Mompa villages and majestic Buddhist monasteries. Even if Chinese rivals have not passed him since 1962, Beijing look at this domain as part of your Tibet. Accordingly, religiosity and spiritualism there have long shared with a strong militarism.
Dunhuang, China

An Oasis in the China of the Sands

Thousands of kilometers west of Beijing, the Great Wall has its western end and the China and other. An unexpected splash of vegetable green breaks up the arid expanse all around. Announces Dunhuang, formerly crucial outpost on the Silk Road, today an intriguing city at the base of Asia's largest sand dunes.
Lijiang, China

A Gray City but Little

Seen from afar, its vast houses are dreary, but Lijiang's centuries-old sidewalks and canals are more folkloric than ever. This city once shone as the grandiose capital of the Naxi people. Today, floods of Chinese visitors who fight for the quasi-theme park it have become take it by storm.
Longsheng, China

Huang Luo: the Chinese Village of the Longest Hairs

In a multi-ethnic region covered with terraced rice paddies, the women of Huang Luo have surrendered to the same hairy obsession. They let the longest hair in the world grow, years on end, to an average length of 170 to 200 cm. Oddly enough, to keep them beautiful and shiny, they only use water and rice.
Lijiang e Yangshuo, China

An Impressive China

One of the most respected Asian filmmakers, Zhang Yimou dedicated himself to large outdoor productions and co-authored the media ceremonies of the Beijing OG. But Yimou is also responsible for “Impressions”, a series of no less controversial stagings with stages in emblematic places.
Lhasa, Tibet

The Sino-Demolition of the Roof of the World

Any debate about sovereignty is incidental and a waste of time. Anyone who wants to be dazzled by the purity, affability and exoticism of Tibetan culture should visit the territory as soon as possible. The Han civilizational greed that moves China will soon bury millenary Tibet.
Dali, China

Chinese Style Flash Mob

The time is set and the place is known. When the music starts playing, a crowd follows the choreography harmoniously until time runs out and everyone returns to their lives.
Miyajima, Japan

Shintoism and Buddhism with the Tide

Visitors to the Tori of Itsukushima admire one of the three most revered scenery in Japan. On the island of Miyajima, Japanese religiosity blends with Nature and is renewed with the flow of the Seto Inland Sea.
Lhasa, Tibet

When Buddhism Tires of Meditation

It is not only with silence and spiritual retreat that one seeks Nirvana. At the Sera Monastery, the young monks perfect their Buddhist knowledge with lively dialectical confrontations and crackling clapping of hands.
Nara, Japan

The Colossal Cradle of the Japanese Buddhism

Nara has long since ceased to be the capital and its Todai-ji temple has been demoted. But the Great Hall remains the largest ancient wooden building in the world. And it houses the greatest bronze Vairocana Buddha.
Huang Shan, China

Huang Shan: The Yellow Mountains of the Floating Peaks

The granitic peaks of the floating yellow mountains of Huang Shan, from which acrobat pines sprout, appear in artistic illustrations from China without count. The real scenery, in addition to being remote, remains hidden above the clouds for over 200 days.
Okavango Delta, Not all rivers reach the sea, Mokoros
Safari
Okavango Delta, Botswana

Not all rivers reach the sea

Third longest river in southern Africa, the Okavango rises in the Angolan Bié plateau and runs 1600km to the southeast. It gets lost in the Kalahari Desert where it irrigates a dazzling wetland teeming with wildlife.
Prayer flags in Ghyaru, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 4th – Upper Banana to Ngawal, Nepal

From Nightmare to Dazzle

Unbeknownst to us, we are faced with an ascent that leads us to despair. We pulled our strength as far as possible and reached Ghyaru where we felt closer than ever to the Annapurnas. The rest of the way to Ngawal felt like a kind of extension of the reward.
Itamaraty Palace Staircase, Brasilia, Utopia, Brazil
Architecture & Design
Brasilia, Brazil

Brasília: from Utopia to the Capital and Political Arena of Brazil

Since the days of the Marquis of Pombal, there has been talk of transferring the capital to the interior. Today, the chimera city continues to look surreal but dictates the rules of Brazilian development.
Era Susi towed by dog, Oulanka, Finland
Adventure
PN Oulanka, Finland

A Slightly Lonesome Wolf

Jukka “Era-Susi” Nordman has created one of the largest packs of sled dogs in the world. He became one of Finland's most iconic characters but remains faithful to his nickname: Wilderness Wolf.
Ice cream, Moriones Festival, Marinduque, Philippines
Ceremonies and Festivities
Marinduque, Philippines

When the Romans Invade the Philippines

Even the Eastern Empire didn't get that far. In Holy Week, thousands of centurions seize Marinduque. There, the last days of Longinus, a legionary converted to Christianity, are re-enacted.
Palace of Knossos, Crete, Greece
Cities
Iraklio, CreteGreece

From Minos to Minus

We arrived in Iraklio and, as far as big cities are concerned, Greece stops there. As for history and mythology, the capital of Crete branches without end. Minos, son of Europa, had both his palace and the labyrinth in which the minotaur closed. The Arabs, the Byzantines, the Venetians and the Ottomans passed through Iraklio. The Greeks who inhabit it fail to appreciate it.
Tsukiji fish market, Tokyo, Japan
Meal
Tokyo, Japan

The Fish Market That Lost its Freshness

In a year, each Japanese eats more than their weight in fish and shellfish. Since 1935, a considerable part was processed and sold in the largest fish market in the world. Tsukiji was terminated in October 2018, and replaced by Toyosu's.
MassKara Festival, Bacolod City, Philippines
Culture
Bacolod, Philippines

A Festival to Laugh at Tragedy

Around 1980, the value of sugar, an important source of wealth on the Philippine island of Negros, plummeted and the ferry “Don Juan” that served it sank and took the lives of more than 176 passengers, most of them from Negrès. The local community decided to react to the depression generated by these dramas. That's how MassKara arose, a party committed to recovering the smiles of the population.
Reindeer Racing, Kings Cup, Inari, Finland
Sport
Inari, Finland

The Wackiest Race on the Top of the World

Finland's Lapps have been competing in the tow of their reindeer for centuries. In the final of the Kings Cup - Porokuninkuusajot - , they face each other at great speed, well above the Arctic Circle and well below zero.
Alaska, by Homer in Search of Whittier
Traveling
Homer a Whittier, Alaska

In Search of the Stealth Whittier

We leave Homer in search of Whittier, a refuge built in World War II and housing two hundred or so people, almost all in a single building.
Creel, Chihuahua, Carlos Venzor, collector, museum
Ethnic
Chihuahua a Creel, Chihuahua, Mexico

On Creel's Way

With Chihuahua behind, we point to the southwest and to even higher lands in the north of Mexico. Next to Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, we visited a Mennonite elder. Around Creel, we lived for the first time with the Rarámuri indigenous community of the Serra de Tarahumara.
portfolio, Got2Globe, Travel photography, images, best photographs, travel photos, world, Earth
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Portfolio Got2globe

The Best in the World – Got2Globe Portfolio

Traditional houses, Bergen, Norway.
History
Bergen, Norway

The Great Hanseatic Port of Norway

Already populated in the early 1830th century, Bergen became the capital, monopolized northern Norwegian commerce and, until XNUMX, remained one of the largest cities in Scandinavia. Today, Oslo leads the nation. Bergen continues to stand out for its architectural, urban and historical exuberance.
boat party, margarita island, PN mochima, venezuela
Islands
Margarita Island ao Mochima NP, Venezuela

Margarita Island to Mochima National Park: a very Caribbean Caribe

The exploration of the Venezuelan coast justifies a wild nautical party. But, these stops also reveal life in cactus forests and waters as green as the tropical jungle of Mochima.
Horses under a snow, Iceland Never Ending Snow Island Fire
Winter White
Husavik a Myvatn, Iceland

Endless Snow on the Island of Fire

When, in mid-May, Iceland already enjoys some sun warmth but the cold and snow persist, the inhabitants give in to an intriguing summer anxiety.
Kukenam reward
Literature
Mount Roraima, Venezuela

Time Travel to the Lost World of Mount Roraima

Persist on top of Mte. Roraima extraterrestrial scenarios that have withstood millions of years of erosion. Conan Doyle created, in "The Lost World", a fiction inspired by the place but never set foot on it.
La Digue, Seychelles, Anse d'Argent
Nature
La Digue, Seychelles

Monumental Tropical Granite

Beaches hidden by lush jungle, made of coral sand washed by a turquoise-emerald sea are anything but rare in the Indian Ocean. La Digue recreated itself. Around its coastline, massive boulders sprout that erosion has carved as an eccentric and solid tribute of time to the Nature.
Mother Armenia Statue, Yerevan, Armenia
Autumn
Yerevan, Armenia

A Capital between East and West

Heiress of the Soviet civilization, aligned with the great Russia, Armenia allows itself to be seduced by the most democratic and sophisticated ways of Western Europe. In recent times, the two worlds have collided in the streets of your capital. From popular and political dispute, Yerevan will dictate the new course of the nation.
Victoria Falls, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Zambezi
Natural Parks
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwee

Livingstone's Thundering Gift

The explorer was looking for a route to the Indian Ocean when natives led him to a jump of the Zambezi River. The falls he found were so majestic that he decided to name them in honor of his queen
Composition on Nine Arches Bridge, Ella, Sri Lanka
UNESCO World Heritage
Yala NPElla-Kandy, Sri Lanka

Journey Through Sri Lanka's Tea Core

We leave the seafront of PN Yala towards Ella. On the way to Nanu Oya, we wind on rails through the jungle, among plantations in the famous Ceylon. Three hours later, again by car, we enter Kandy, the Buddhist capital that the Portuguese never managed to dominate.
Heroes Acre Monument, Zimbabwe
Characters
Harare, Zimbabwewe

The Last Rales of Surreal Mugabué

In 2015, Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe said the 91-year-old president would rule until the age of 100 in a special wheelchair. Shortly thereafter, it began to insinuate itself into his succession. But in recent days, the generals have finally precipitated the removal of Robert Mugabe, who has replaced him with former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Martinique island, French Antilles, Caribbean Monument Cap 110
Beaches
Martinique, French Antilles

The Armpit Baguette Caribbean

We move around Martinique as freely as the Euro and the tricolor flags fly supreme. But this piece of France is volcanic and lush. Lies in the insular heart of the Americas and has a delicious taste of Africa.
Cape Espichel, Sanctuary of Senhora do Cabo, Sesimbra,
Religion
Albufeira Lagoon ao Cape Espichel, Sesimbra, Portugal

Pilgrimage to a Cape of Worship

From the top of its 134 meters high, Cabo Espichel reveals an Atlantic coast as dramatic as it is stunning. Departing from Lagoa de Albufeira to the north, golden coast below, we venture through more than 600 years of mystery, mysticism and veneration of its aparecida Nossa Senhora do Cabo.
The Toy Train story
On Rails
Siliguri a Darjeeling, India

The Himalayan Toy Train Still Running

Neither the steep slope of some stretches nor the modernity stop it. From Siliguri, in the tropical foothills of the great Asian mountain range, the Darjeeling, with its peaks in sight, the most famous of the Indian Toy Trains has ensured for 117 years, day after day, an arduous dream journey. Traveling through the area, we climb aboard and let ourselves be enchanted.
cozy Vegas
Society
Las Vegas, USA

World Capital of Weddings vs Sin City

The greed of the game, the lust of prostitution and the widespread ostentation are all part of Las Vegas. Like the chapels that have neither eyes nor ears and promote eccentric, quick and cheap marriages.
herd, foot-and-mouth disease, weak meat, colonia pellegrini, argentina
Daily life
Colónia Pellegrini, Argentina

When the Meat is Weak

The unmistakable flavor of Argentine beef is well known. But this wealth is more vulnerable than you think. The threat of foot-and-mouth disease, in particular, keeps authorities and growers afloat.
Cape cross seal colony, cape cross seals, Namibia
Wildlife
Cape Cross, Namíbia

The Most Turbulent of the African Colonies

Diogo Cão landed in this cape of Africa in 1486, installed a pattern and turned around. The immediate coastline to the north and south was German, South African, and finally Namibian. Indifferent to successive transfers of nationality, one of the largest seal colonies in the world has maintained its hold there and animates it with deafening marine barks and endless tantrums.
Napali Coast and Waimea Canyon, Kauai, Hawaii Wrinkles
Scenic Flights
napali coast, Hawaii

Hawaii's Dazzling Wrinkles

Kauai is the greenest and rainiest island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is also the oldest. As we explore its Napalo Coast by land, sea and air, we are amazed to see how the passage of millennia has only favored it.
PT EN ES FR DE IT