Carved under the Northern Wei dynasty beginning in 460 CE, on the orders of the monk Tanyao
昙曜, who sculpted five colossal Buddhas (the 'Five Tanyao Caves'
昙曜五窟) to represent the first five Wei emperors. The earliest of China's three great Buddhist cave sites — older than Longmen and Mogao's main period. UNESCO-listed since 2001.
