Before leaving Anyue, be sure to visit Yuanjue Cave

Anyue Rock Carvings
Many caves are misnamed.
The best part of Pilu Cave isn't the Pilu Buddha,
but the Water Moon Guanyin.
The best part of Yuanjue Cave isn't the Twelve Yuanjue,
but One Buddha and Two Bodhisattvas.

Yuanjue Cave is the most easily accessible of all the Anyue rock carvings. It's the kind of place where there are no traffic jams for self-driving, it's in the city center, and even buses can reach it. The "ancient, numerous, exquisite, and beautiful" qualities of Anyue rock carvings are concentrated in Yuanjue Cave. Before leaving Anyue, you must visit Yuanjue Cave.

🗿About Yuanjue Cave
The statues are mainly from the Tang Dynasty, Five Dynasties, and Song Dynasty. Because the Yuanjue Cave inside was very famous in those years, it was named after it. But very ironically, in that special era, the heads of the Twelve Yuanjue were artificially destroyed, and now they are all replacements, which is very sad.

📸Highlights
✅Tang Pagoda: A Mi Yan-style pagoda that was very popular in the Tang Dynasty.
✅One Buddha and Two Bodhisattvas: One Buddha (Pinch-Flower Buddha) + Guanyin of the Holy Water Vase + Lotus Hand Guanyin. You can always trust the aesthetics of the Song Dynasty. They are incredibly beautiful.
✅Sudhana: Have you ever seen Sudhana with a beard who is getting on in years?
✅Apsaras: On both sides of the heads of Pinch-Flower Buddha and Guanyin of the Holy Water Vase.
✅Rock caves of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms: Below the cliff with the words "Turtle and Crane", the "Hell Transformation Niche", "Thousand Buddha Niche", and "Western Three Saints" are the most famous.

📌Tips: Go straight ahead from the "Turtle and Crane" cliff to the newly built imitation caves, which copy the famous rock caves in the safety zone. It is recommended not to waste your energy on the poorly made ones. But the good outweighs the bad. The CNY 28 ticket for Yuanjue Cave is really worth it.