China's Grotto Corridor ● Tongzi Temple Grottoes (A grotto you can't even find on a map)

This is a grotto you can't find on a map. Even official records of it are scarce, and the specific time when the grottoes were carved can no longer be determined. However, the earliest murals can be traced back to the Western Wei period's 'Chart of Holding Precepts as Virtue for Rebirth in Buddha's Land' (Figures 8-9), which indicates that the carving of the grottoes would not be later than the Western Wei. Only Grotto No. 1 is accessible for visitors, which features the story of Journey to the West. The prevailing view is that it was painted in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, with as many as 41 scenes. The most spectacular aspect of Grotto No. 1 is that it has the most layers of murals seen to date, with records mentioning five layers of murals, and four layers can be identified on-site (Figure 7), which is truly breathtaking. There are also some individual grottoes located on sheer cliffs, inaccessible without tools, where the murals are better preserved, including images of Bodhisattvas in the Northern Liang style and Tibetan Buddhist Tantric murals, among others. Unfortunately, I was not able to see them this time, which I consider part of my 'bucket list'.