The hit Chinese video game Black Myth: Wukong has recently sparked a surge in tourism in North China's Shanxi province. Among the 36 ancient architectural sites featured in the game, 27 are in Shanxi.

The Yungang Grottoes, Huayan Temple and the Xuankong Hanging Temple are three of these historical sites, all in Datong city in northern Shanxi.

Yungang Grottoes, treasure troves of Buddhist art

A trip to Datong wouldn't be complete without exploring the Yungang Grottoes, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site.

Yungang Grottoes represent the pinnacle of Buddhist cave art from the 5th and 6th centuries, created during the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) when Datong (then known as Pingcheng) was the capital for nearly a century.

Spanning about one kilometer from east to west, the grottoes are carved out of the mountain. A total of 45 major caves and 209 affiliated ones house more than 59,000 sculptures in various sizes, with the tallest standing at 17 meters and the smallest at 2 centimeters. They depict themes from history to architecture and music.

During a tour with the 2024 Shanxi Trip for Taiwan Merchants and Youth on Aug 23, Fan Yang-chi, a journalist from Hsinchu, said: "I only got to truly understand the carving techniques of people and their devotion to Buddhist art after visiting the Yungang Grottoes."

"It's particularly awe-inspiring that the Yungang Grottoes are an artistic achievement that took decades of carving and were jointly created by the imperial family and the common people," he added.

Veteran journalist Cheng Chen-tung also expressed his admiration: "The Yungang Grottoes are very impressive. It's a very important place in Chinese history, an asset of the Chinese mainland, and a crucial cultural heritage on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. It's really stunning. I hope it can be promoted to more people in Taiwan."