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. Bezeklik means "place where there are paintings" in the Uigur language. Out of 83 man-made caves or grottos, only 57 are intact. Murals in 40 of the caves cover a combined area of about 1,200 sq meters. So Bizaklik Thousand Buddha Caves are one of the most valuable Buddhist cave sites found in all of China. They are also the important attractions along the ancient Silk Road today.

The chiseling work began during the Gaochang Kingdom Period from 499 AD to 640 AD while large constructions were conducted from the 6th century to the 14th century for around 800 years.

Bizaklik Caves once a royal temple of Huihu (the predecessor of today's Uigur) State and the existing caves take us back to the ancient Huihu State, where we can see the people's life in that time. The inscriptions on the murals in ancient Uigur, Chinese, and other languages provide invaluable references for historical research. A mural found in cave No. 17 depicts the doctrines of the ancient third century Persian religion of Manicheism is the best evidence.

The caves also had different usages; most of them being shrines, however, some of them were residences and schools for monks to learn and practice Buddhism, and a few of the caves were shrines dedicated to monks of great renown. It was an important Buddhist gathering place.