Qipan Thousand Buddha Caves

Qipan Thousand Buddha Caves

Qipan Thousand Buddha Caves

In a valley on the eastern side of the Pamir Plateau lies a set of Thousand Buddha Caves, located to the west of Qipan Township in Yecheng County. The exact date when the Qipan Thousand Buddha Caves were carved remains uncertain. Based on the architectural style of the caves, remnants of murals, and pottery unearthed nearby, experts speculate that they may be relics from the Western Liao period, dating back about seven or eight hundred years.

Locally, these Thousand Buddha Caves are called “Kali Gama,” meaning “Black Cave,” and are also known as the Maiden’s Cave. Legend has it that in ancient times, a king had a daughter, and a fortune-teller predicted that she was destined for a tragic life, advising that she must hide in a cave to avoid disaster. So, the king had more than ten caves carved here, decorating them with paint and murals. He had his daughter live in the upper cave, while he and his ministers and guards stayed in the lower ones. Later, the maiden was stung to death by a wild bee hiding in a grape. As a result, these caves came to be known as the Maiden’s Cave.

The Qipan Thousand Buddha Caves were buried by landslides, and only ten are visible today. All the caves are single-chambered, varying in size—the smallest is about 2 meters square, while the largest measures 4.4 meters in length and 3.9 meters in width. Very few relics remain inside the caves. On the right wall of the larger cave, there is only one niche, and in the middle of the cave, there is a Buddha pedestal, but no statue. In the top two caves, some scattered Buddhist murals still remain, and fragments of peeled-off murals can also be found on the ground. From these, it can only be determined that it was once a Thousand Buddha Cave. Additionally, at the mountaintop and to the right of the caves, Han dynasty and Arabic copper coins, single-handled jars, double-handled red pottery jars, and stone millstones have been excavated.