Bozikelike Qian Fo Dong (Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves)

Description:

• The setting of Bezeklik Caves, in a ravine deep in the Flaming Mountains, is more spectacular than the contents of the caves. Bezeklik was stripped by several German expeditions -- led by Albert Grunwedel and his nominal understudy, Albert von Le Coq -- and relocated to the Museum fur Indische Kunst in Berlin. Grunwedel was reluctant to remove Buddhist antiquities, but Le Coq deemed it essential for their preservation, sparing them from Muslim iconoclasts and practical-minded farmers who would scrape off paintings for use as fertilizer. Nearly all the large wall paintings were destroyed during Allied bombing raids on Berlin in 1943 and 1945. What little is left in the few caves that are open, particularly in no. 39, hints at a distinctly Indo-Persian style. The new Journey to the West statue outside is rather special. About 1.6km (1 mile) back down the road, there's a collection of new statues, including a Laughing Buddha, which aren't worth paying the ¥20 ($2.60/£1.30) to look around, but the picturesque vineyard set at the verdant valley bottom (included in the same ticket) is worth a wander down to, even if you don't enter the site.

• © Frommer's 2012