Ganglong Grottoes

　　The Ganglong Grottoes in the Ganglong Valley east of Ketu in Menyuan County are among the few well-preserved grottoes in Qinghai. They were carved during the Jin Dynasty (“Ganglong,” which means “snow valley” in Tibetan, got its name because the snow in the valley does not easily melt in winter). The grottoes are carved into a red sandstone cliff that is 100 meters long from north to south and 50 meters high, consisting of a Buddha statue and a stone stupa. The stupa features a lotus base, a hemispherical body, thirteen wheel-like discs, and a sun-and-moon finial. A “vision door” is carved into the belly of the stupa body, inside of which many clay Buddha statues made of red clay are enshrined. This is a typical stupa with an overall height of 6 meters and a base width of 2 meters. On the left side of the stupa, there is a carving of Sakyamuni Buddha, 1.2 meters tall and 1.8 meters wide, and on the right side, there is a smaller Buddha statue. On the north side of the stupa, there is also a tall cliff face engraved with Tibetan inscriptions—the Six Syllable Mantra, small stupas, small Buddha statues, and Chinese characters reading “The pagoda was built in the year of Wuyin.” These cliff carvings and Buddha images record the devotion and faithfulness of generations of Tibetans in the region to their beliefs. Nestled against mountains and near water, the grottoes are simple and natural, rich in unique ethnic cultural meaning and steeped in long history. The Ganglong Valley boasts beautiful scenery, with perilous rocks scattered across the valley floor, deep and dangerous gorges, overlapping mountain ridges, rugged peaks in diverse shapes, towering and graceful mountain ranges, numerous peculiar rocks, clear river water, and various-shaped river stones. The valley is lush with greenery, wildflowers in brilliant bloom, birds chirping in the secluded valley, presenting a picturesque landscape of verdant mountains and limpid waters—a beautiful natural garden.