TianShui and the Maijishan Grottoes

Distance covered - 4753km

As I venture eastwards, there seemed to be more and more Han influence and lesser Uighur / Tibetan influence in the local culture. TianShui, for instance, is another typical Chinese city, and the only reason tourists stop over here is for the Maijishan Grottoes  together with Mogao Grottoes and other 2 grottoes, known as China's 4 main Buddhist Grottoes.

As I was still recovering from the cold I caught in XiaHe, I've decided that the remaining days should be just light and easy, with plenty of time to rest in the hotel. Hence, I decided to focus mainly on Maijishan here and forsake the rest of the minor attractions here in TianShui.

The early bus took an hour to reach Maijishan, and since the October tourist peak season has waned off, there weren't many tourists on the bus. Or is it because it's just a small city after all?

After arriving in the main entrance, there's another 20 minutes of hiking up the slope before you reach the grottoes. As I trekked upwards, I started to shiver, seeing the grottoes at the side of the cliffs of this mountain. Damn, it's going to be a difficult climb this time!

Maijishan Grottoes - it is kinda high up there.

Gulps.

It's really high up there

The grottoes are located high up at the side of the cliffs, and the only way to go up there, are a labyrinth of steel stairs. Yet, the temptation of the grottoes were too great for me to resist, hence I coerced myself to overcome my acrophobia, just to have a glimpse of the caves.

Delicate carvings

Amazing.

Touch me not!

Anyway, my hands were trembling too much for photography, so not much photos were taken. However, the carvings were amazing; most of the statues were already eroded with time, but the remaining ones, which are being preserved are still breathtaking. I could feel my legs shaking more and my guts shrinking as I ascend to the highest level, so a brief glimpse of all the grottoes and I was on my way down. Yup, the entire grottoes in just 30 minutes!

Maijishan and I.

Looking back, it was a bit too rush, but then somehow fear eventually overcome me and I just had to get my feet back on solid ground. Distracting myself with the wonderful autumn scenery of the nearby mountains didn't seem to work for long.

Goodbye Maijishan

Pine seeds

I took the bus back to my hotel, had plenty of fluids, fruits and rest, as I prepared myself for my last stop, Xi'an, China's cradle of civilisation.