Yulin Grottoes, also known as "ten thousand Buddha gorge," is located along the Yulin River, 46.5 miles southwest of Anxi County. It is renowned for the large number of elms planted there. The 42 caves on both sides of the river trace back to the Tang, Five, Song, Western Xia, and Yuan Dy­nasties. Inside these caves, murals cover an area of about 60,000 square feet,and there are also 10,826 remnants of Buddha paintings. The old­est cave, quite different from the center-columned caves in the Northern Wei Dynasty, dates back to the early Tang Dynasty, and has the artistic style of early Yulin Grot­toes. Cave 25 contains very well-preserved murals; the paintings are incomparable. Caves that date back to the Western Xia and Yuan Dynasties are also worth a visit, especially the six remnants of murals entitled "Journey to the West" found in caves of the Western Xia Dynasty.

Yulin Grottoes is similar to Mogao Cave in its con­tents, artistic styles, and painting techniques. After the period of Five Dynas­ties (907-960), art forms in Mogao Cave underwent a gradual decline; however, the murals of Yulin Grot­toes are fascinating and well worth a visit.