# Yulin Caves (榆林窟)

Dunhuang, Gansu Province · Northwest, China · Guidebook rating: 3/5
Canonical: https://cnatrip.com/en/places/yulin-caves
Language: en

## Key facts

- **Admission:** General admission: ¥40; admission to representative caves: Cave 2 ¥100, Cave 3 ¥150, Cave 4 ¥100, Cave 25 ¥200
- **Opening hours:** 9:00–17:30 (peak season); 9:30–17:00 (off-season)
- **Time needed:** 2–3 hours
- **Address:** Suoyang Town, Guazhou County, Jiuquan City
- **Getting there:** Take a chartered car from Guazhou. You can combine the trip with Yulin Caves, Suoyang City and the Eastern Thousand Buddha Caves. Along the way you will pass several ancient city ruins, which you can visit free of charge.
- **Good for:** History & Culture, Temples

## About Yulin Caves

Yulin Caves contain 43 well-preserved cave temples dating back a thousand years, with 272 painted sculptures and more than 5,650 square metres of murals. The murals are grand in scale and exquisitely detailed. The 25-metre-high gilded Maitreya Buddha, radiant and magnificent, and the strikingly lifelike Eighteen Arhats, along with the expressive Mute Arhat, are classic examples of Yulin Caves' painted sculptures and are exceptionally rare anywhere in the world.

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Source: China Self-Guided Travel 2025 (《中国自助游》, Tianjin Science & Technology Press, Aug 2024), p. 760. Prices, hours and transport details are as printed in the August 2024 edition and may have changed. Always confirm with the venue before you travel.
Site: China Trip (https://cnatrip.com) — independent China travel guide in 13 languages.