Guangyang Mountain Grottoes

Guangyang Mountain Grottoes

The Guangyang Mountain Grottoes are a cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province.

The Guangyang Mountain Grottoes date back to the Song and Yuan dynasties and are located in Dukou Village, Liushigang Township, Shahe City, Xingtai.

The Guangyang Mountain Grottoes are a small-scale grotto complex. The cave itself is a natural rock cavity, and during the Song and Yuan periods, people carved Buddhist stone statues on the stone walls on either side of the cave. Unfortunately, the Buddha statues have suffered severe human damage and are now unrecognizable. According to elders, these marks were likely left during the early Cultural Revolution when the campaign to "Smash the Four Olds" took place. Cultural relics document history—carving the statues was history, and destroying them is also history.

The Buddha statues inside the grottoes are arranged in two tiers. Although heavily damaged, the remaining fragments still allow us to imagine their original exquisite craftsmanship. Comparatively speaking, the statues on the upper tier are more finely crafted than those on the lower tier, and the Buddhist figures depicted are of higher rank. Among them, one Buddha statue clearly has an elephant as its mount, likely representing Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, while the figure seated nearby may be the Buddha.

Fortunately, although the Buddha statues were damaged, a stone inscription at the cave entrance documenting the creation of the statues has been preserved intact. It includes the record: “A third-rank military officer from Weixian County, Beijing, carved a statue of an Arhat.” This confirms that the grottoes were initially built during the Song Dynasty. According to the Geographic Records of the Song History, in the second year of the Qingli era (1042 AD) during the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, Daming Prefecture was designated as the “Northern Capital,” and Weixian County was under the jurisdiction of Daming Prefecture.

On October 20, 2008, the Guangyang Mountain Grottoes were announced by the People’s Government of Hebei Province as part of the fifth batch of provincial-level cultural relic protection units.

Dukou Village: Dukou Village is situated at the mouth of a mountain valley where the river widens and becomes calm enough for ferrying. Historically known as a crossing point, it earned the name “Dukou” (literally “Ferry Crossing”), and is also called Xiaohangzhou. The village lies against a southern hillside and borders a river plain to the north, with a highway passing by its northeast. It is approximately 35 kilometers from the seat of the Shahe Municipal Government and is located in a small basin surrounded by mountains, neighboring villages such as Daping, Shiling, Sizhuang, Chenwan, Beigou, Jian’ao, Balimiao, Jiangjunmu, Anhe, and Peng’ai. The village has 1,252 households and a population of 4,377. It has 198 hectares of arable land, and its locally produced old vinegar is quite famous. Temple fairs are held on the 15th day of the third lunar month, the 23rd day of the sixth lunar month, and the 26th day of the ninth lunar month... More detailed information about Dukou Village++

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Hebei Province