Kumtura Caves Explained

Kumtura Caves
Map Type:China Xinjiang#China
Relief:yes
Coordinates:41.7117°N 82.6784°W
Location:Xinjiang, China

The Kumtura Thousand Buddha Caves (Chinese: t=庫木吐喇千佛洞|s={{linktext|库|木|吐|喇|千|佛|洞) (also Qumtura; Uyghur: Uighur; Uyghur: قۇمتۇرا) is a Buddhist cave temple site in the Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, China. The site is located some 25 km west of Kucha, Kuqa County, on the ancient Silk Road.[1] [2] Other famous sites nearby are the Kizilgaha caves, the Kizil Caves, Subashi Temple and the Simsim caves.[3]

112 cave temples survive, dating from the fifth to the eleventh centuries. Damaged by occasional habitation after abandonment of the site, Kumtura was visited by a number of the early foreign expeditions to Chinese Central Asia, including the 1902 Ōtani expedition, Oldenburg, and Le Coq.[4] [5] [6] [7] The last detached several wall paintings and took them back to Berlin (now at the Museum für Asiatische Kunst).[8]

Construction of the Dongfang Hong Hydroelectric Plant in the 1970s caused the water level of the Muzat River to rise and has increased the rate of decay of the wall paintings.[1] Long-term preservation measures under the auspices of UNESCO began in 1999 with extensive documentation and survey work and consolidation of the conglomerate rock from which the caves are excavated.[1] [9] The site was among the first to be designated for protection in 1961 as a Major National Historical and Cultural Site.[10] In 2008 Kumtula Grottoes was submitted for future inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Chinese Section of the Silk Road.[11]

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Notes and References

  1. Book: Conservation of Ancient Sites on the Silk Road: Proceedings of the Second International Conference . Agnew, Neville . 2010 . . 9781606060131 . 37–9.
  2. Book: zh:库木吐喇石窟内容总录 . A general record of the Kumtura caves . zh . Wang Weidong . 文物出版社 . 2008 . 9787501023844.
  3. (Other than Kizil)... "The nearby site of Kumtura contains over a hundred caves, forty of which contain painted murals or inscriptions. Other cave sites near Kucha include Subashi, Kizilgaha, and Simsim." in Book: Buswell . Robert E. . Lopez . Donald S. . The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism . 24 November 2013 . Princeton University Press . 978-1-4008-4805-8 . 438 . en.
  4. Web site: Japanese Collections . . 28 April 2012.
  5. Web site: Russian Collections . . 28 April 2012.
  6. Web site: German Collections . . 28 April 2012.
  7. Book: Foreign Devils on the Silk Road: The Search for the Lost Cities and Treasures of Chinese Central Asia . Hopkirk, Peter . 1984 . Peter Hopkirk . . 0870234358 . registration .
  8. Web site: MIA Kumtura Collection . . 28 April 2012.
  9. Web site: The Conservation and Restoration of Kumtura Thousand Buddha Caves . . 28 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130118204751/http://www.unescobej.org/culture/world-heritage/kumtura-thousand-buddha-caves-conservation-project/ . 18 January 2013 . dead .
  10. Web site: 国务院关于公布第一批全国重点文物保护单位名单的通知 (1st Designations) . 3 April 1961 . . zh . 28 April 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120609132452/http://www.sach.gov.cn/tabid/96/InfoID/16/frtid/134/Default.aspx . 9 June 2012 .
  11. Web site: Chinese Section of the Silk Road . . 28 April 2012.