Xumishan Grottoes monastery, (near) Huangduobu, Ningxia Hui, CN

Raw data

"The Grottoes on Xumi Mountain are located at the east slope of Xumi Mountain, 55km north-west of Guyuan County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. […] Originally there were more than 130 grottoes with temples on the ground. However, only 20 well preserved grottoes remain, scattering on the five peaks, called by the locals as the Dafo Lou (Great Building of Buddhism), Zisun Gong (Palace for offspring), Yuanguang Temple, Xiangguo Temple and Taohua Cavern (Peach Blossom Cavern), winding for two kilometers."
http://www.chinaculture.org/library/2008-02/18/content_128196.htm

"The Xumishan ("Xumi Mountain") Grottoes lie on the eastern side of Mount Xumi in Guyuan County of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, some 50 kilometers south of the village (county town) of Guyuan and some 300 kilometers south of the city of Yinchuan. There are more than 100 grottoes in the mountain, all of which are collectively called the "Xumishan Grottoes". "Xumi" is the transliteration of a Sanskrit word meaning "treasure mountain" ("shan" itself means "mountain" in Chinese).
[…]
The Xumishan Grottoes date mainly from the Northern (CE 386-588) Dynasties period of the Southern and Northern (CE 386-588) Dynasties era, though further grottoes were added during the course of subsequent dynasties. The locale on the mountain where the first grottoes were chiseled was formerly a giant Buddhist temple (Jingyun Temple) during the Tang (CE 618-907) Dynasty. Decades later, during the first reign (CE 1436-1449) of Emperor Zhengtong of the Ming (CE 1368-1644) Dynasty, the temple was renamed "Yuanguang Temple". There are still grottoes in the Yuanguang Temple area, as well as a number of other grottoes in other areas on the mountain. Yuanguang Temple is one of the more prominent scenic sites within Xumishan Grottoes Scenic Area.

The first grottoes of Mount Xumi were initially chiseled during the middle to late period of the Northern Wei (CE 386-533) Dynasty. Unfortunately, years of neglect that has permitted a natural deterioration [through weathering - tmciolek] of the grottoes […]

Today there are hardly more than 20 grottoes with well-preserved contents on the mountain, most of which are located in the five scenic sites of Dafo Tower, Taohua Cave, Xian gguo Temple, Yuanguang Temple, and Zisun Palace. Among all the remaining grottoes of Xumishan with well-preserved contents, grottoes nos. 45 and 46 have fared best, with the largest number of intact stone statues (more than 40 such statues). In addition, although grotto no. 51 was somewhat damaged by earthquake, it remains one of the grottoes with the largest number of intact statues."
http://www.chinatravel.com/ningxia/guyuan/attraction/xumishan-grottoes/

"To find the Xumi Shan Caves, travel some 460 kilometers from Yinchuan to Guyuan City, which lies along the Qingshui River in the extreme southern-tip of the Ningxia Region. At a distance of some 50 kilometers North-West from Guyuan, the Caves can be found outside of Huangduobao Village in the vicinity of Sanying Town."
http://www.drben.net/ChinaReport/NingXia_Province/NingXia_Source/NingXia_Province-Landmarks-Monuments.html

Guyuan, China Page
Other names: Ku-yüan,Ku-yuan,Ku-yuan-hsien,Ku-yüan-hsien
World:China:Ningxia Huizu Zizhiqu
Lat 36.0667 Long 106.2808
http://www.fallingrain.com/world/CH/21/Guyuan.html

Huangduobu, China Page
World:China:Ningxia Huizu Zizhiqu
Lat 36.3000 Long 106.0667
http://www.fallingrain.com/world/CH/21/Huangduobu.html

Input by: tmciolek, Jan 5, 2010
"The Xumishan Grottoes, or 须弥山, are a collection of more than 130 Buddhist cave temples, built between the fifth century A.D. until the tenth century A.D., on the eastern edge of Mount Xumi in China in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xumishan_grottoes

"The Grottoes on Xumi Mountain are located at the east slope of Xumi Mountain, 55km north-west of Guyuan County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
The name of the Xumi Mountain is translated from Sanskrit, which means a treasure mountain. With the hills, trees and rivers, the grottoes enjoy a beautiful surrounding. Judged by the form of grottoes and the style of sculptures, they were initially built in the late Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) and completed with the effort in Sui and Tang Dynasties (581-907). According to the inscription for the reconstruction in the twelfth year (1476) of Chenghua reign during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), it was named the Jingyun Temple in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and renamed as the Guoguang Temple in the Ming Dynasty. Originally there were more than 130 grottoes with temples on the ground. However, only 20 well preserved grottoes remain, scattering on the five peaks, called by the locals as the Dafo Lou (Great Building of Buddhism), Zisun Gong (Palace for offspring), Yuanguang Temple, Xiangguo Temple and Taohua Cavern (Peach Blossom Cavern), winding for two kilometers."
http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_travel/2003-09/24/content_32499.htm
Input by: tmciolek, Sep 24, 2012

Final data (and their sources)

Last updated: 31 Jul 2014

Lat/Long coordinates' accuracy:
The monastery in question is assumed to be situated actually no farther than 200 m from the point defined by the coordinates below.

Location of Xumishan Grottoes monastery, CN.

General location of the Xumishan Grottoes monastery, CN.
Lat 36.27999 Long 105.9868
Mapping & images: Falling Rain Genomics (http://www.fallingrain.com), 2009.


Google Map link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=36.27999+105.9868+(Approx.%20loc.%20of%20the%20Xumishan%20Grottoes%20monastery,%20CN)&ll=36.27999,105.9868&spn=05.0,05.0&t=k&hl=en


Final data - explanatory notes

1. Monastery's name

  • Xumishan monastery

2. Monastery's modern country & province

  • China:Ningxia Huizu Zizhiqu

3. Monastery's alternative/historical names


4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates

  • Approx., Lat 36.27999 Long 105.9868 - visual identification on the map in maps.google.com, tmciolek, 5 Jan 2010.

5. Other known nearby Buddhist monasteries

  • [missing data]

6. Modern name of the known nearest city, town, or village


7. The settlement's alternative/historical names


8. The settlement's coordinates


9. Monastery's major Buddhist tradition

  • Mahayana

10. Monastery's Buddhist sub-tradition

  • [missing data]

11. Date-early

MBM chrono-tag: 0433-66p - tmciolek 31 Jul 2014
0433-66p 0467-99p 0500-32c 0533-66c 0567-99c 0600-32c 0633-66c 0667-99c 0700-32c 0733-66c 0767-99c 0800-32c 0833-66c 0867-99c 0900-32c 0933-66c 0967-99c 1000-32c 1033-66c 1067-99c 1100-32c 1133-66c 1167-99c 1200=> dated-ex


12. Date-intermediate

MBM chrono-tag: 1200=> - tmciolek 31 Jul 2014


13. Date-late

  • [missing data]

14. Details of contacts with other monasteries

  • [missing data]

15. Type of evidence regarding the monastery

  • [missing data]

16. Additional notes

  • [missing data] (incl. details of the size of the monastic population)

17. Corrections & addenda to this page were kindly provided by

  • [missing data]

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