The Kumtura Thousand Buddha Caves ( zh, t=庫木吐喇千佛洞, s=, p=Kùmùtǔlǎ Qiānfódòng) (also Qumtura) is a Buddhist cave temple site in the

Autonomous Region An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy� ...

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

, China. The site is located some 25 km west of

Kucha Kucha, or Kuche (also: ''Kuçar'', ''Kuchar''; ug, كۇچار, Кучар; zh, t= 龜茲, p=Qiūcí, zh, t= 庫車, p=Kùchē; sa, कूचीन, translit=Kūcīna), was an ancient Buddhist kingdom located on the branch of the Silk Road ...

Kuqa County Kuqa is a county-level city in Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. Other names and variants of spelling of Kuqa are Kocha, Kuchu, Kuchar, Kuchi, Kuchel, K'u-ch'e-chen, K'u-ch'e-hsien, Kuga, Kucha and K'u-ch'e. It was once th ...

, on the ancient Silk Road. Other famous sites nearby are the

Kizilgaha caves The Kizilgaha Caves ( zh, t=克孜爾尕哈石窟, s=克孜尔尕哈石窟, p=Kèzīěrgǎhā shíkū) consist in a Buddhist Temple inside a complex of caves in the area of Kucha, Xinjiang, China. The paintings in the cave go back to the 5th centu ...

, the

Kizil Caves The Kizil Caves ( zh, t=克孜爾千佛洞, s=克孜尔千佛洞, l=Kizil Caves of the Thousand Buddhas; ug, قىزىل مىڭ ئۆي, translation=The Thousand Red Houses; also romanized Qizil Caves, spelling variant Qyzyl; Kizil means 'red') ar ...

Subashi Temple The Subashi Temple is a ruined Buddhist temple near Kucha in the Taklamakan Desert, on the ancient Silk Road, in Xinjiang, Western China. The city was partly excavated by the Japanese archaeologist Count Otani. Other famous sites nearby are the A ...

and the

Simsim caves The Simsim caves, also called the Caves of Senmusaimu (), are decorated Buddhist caves in the area of Kucha, Tarim Basin, China. Other famous sites nearby are the Ah-ai Grotto, Kizil Caves The Kizil Caves ( zh, t=克孜爾千佛洞, s=克孜尔� ...

. 112 cave temples survive, dating from the fifth to the eleventh centuries. Damaged by occasional habitation after abandonment of the site, Kumtura was visited by a number of the early foreign expeditions to Chinese Central Asia, including the

1902 Ōtani expedition The 1902 Ōtani expedition was a Japanese archaeological expedition to a series of Silk Road sites in the Taklamakan Desert, led by Count Ōtani Kōzui and lasting from 1902 until 1904. The expedition aimed to study the early transmission of Budd ...

Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places *Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony *Olde ...

, and Le Coq. The last detached several wall paintings and took them back to Berlin (now at the Museum für Asiatische Kunst). Construction of the Dongfang Hong Hydroelectric Plant in the 1970s caused the water level of the

Muzat River The Muzart River () or Muzat River (; ug, مۇزات دەرياسى, translit=Muzat Deryasi) is a river in Aksu Prefecture of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China, a left tributary of the Tarim River. An early 20th-centur ...

to rise and has increased the rate of decay of the wall paintings. Long-term preservation measures under the auspices of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

began in 1999 with extensive documentation and survey work and consolidation of the

conglomerate rock Conglomerate () is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed of a substantial fraction of rounded to subangular gravel-size clasts. A conglomerate typically contains a matrix of finer-grained sediments, such as sand, silt, or clay, which fill ...

from which the caves are excavated. The site was among the first to be designated for protection in 1961 as a Major National Historical and Cultural Site. In 2008 Kumtula Grottoes was submitted for future inscription on the

UNESCO World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

as part of the Chinese Section of the Silk Road.

Gallery

File:Kumtura Caves overview.jpg, Kumtura Caves overview File:Kuntula Grottoes 2, Kuqa.jpg, The Kumtura Grottoes are located along the

. File:Kumtura Caves plan.jpg, Kumtura Caves, sample plan File:Museum für Indische Kunst Dahlem Berlin Mai 2006 072.jpg, Headless statue from Kumtura at the Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Berlin File:Donors from Kumtura Caves.jpg, Donors in Hephthalite style, Kumtura Caves. Similar donors can be seen in the

. Circa 500 CE. Group of donors, Kumtura Caves.jpg, Group of donors in

Tocharian clothing Tocharian clothing refers to clothing worn by the Tocharians. A series of murals from Kizil, Kizilgaha and Kumtura caves depicting Kuchean royalties, knights, swordsmen and donors have provided the best source of information on Tocharian costum ...

, Kumtura Caves. File:Dignitary seized by soldiers. Kumtura painting, 8th-9th century CE.jpg, Dignitary seized by soldiers. Kumtura painting, 8th-9th century CE File:Kumtura Devatas.jpg, Statuettes of

Devata ''Devata'' (pl: ''devatas'', meaning 'the gods') (Devanagari: देवता; Khmer: ទេវតា (''tevoda''); Thai: เทวดา (''tevada''); Javanese, Balinese, Sundanese, Malay: ''dewata''; Batak languages: ''debata'' (Toba) ...

s, Kumtura File:Man in royal attire, Kumtura Caves.jpg, Man in royal attire, Kumtura Caves File:Kumtura deity (1).jpg, Kumtura deity (dome) File:Kumtura deity (2).jpg, Kumtura deity (dome) File:Kumtura Cave Painting 1.jpg, Fresco on the dome

References

External links

Kumtura Thousand Buddha Caves Conservation Project (UNESCO)
* ttp://www.getty.edu/conservation/publications_resources/pdf_publications/2nd_silkroad.html Conservation of Ancient Sites on the Silk Road (2nd Conference) (GCI)br>Xinjiang Cultural Relics Bureau (search term: 库木吐喇千佛洞)

Xinjiang Travel: Reliable & Authentic Guide from Local Travel Experts
{{Authority control Central Asian Buddhist sites Chinese Buddhist grottoes Caves of Xinjiang Silk Road Articles needing Uyghur script or text Religion in Xinjiang Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Xinjiang Buddhist temples in Aksu Prefecture

Gallery

See also

References

External links