Bezeklik Thousand-Buddha Caves: The Other Cave Temple Near Turpan

Before it was Muslim, Xinjiang was Buddhist, and the proof is cut into cliffs east of Turpan. Bezeklik (柏孜克里克千佛洞) is the lesser-known cousin of the famous cave temples — and, for many, the more moving, because what remains feels earned rather than curated.

The history

Carved between the 5th and 14th centuries, Bezeklik’s caves were a major Buddhist centre on the Silk Road, decorated with vivid murals of donors, Buddhas and apsaras. Many were damaged in the early twentieth century and carted abroad; what remains is fragmentary but haunting. The Turpan ruins guide places it among the region’s other lost cities, a thread of faith across the desert.

Getting there

• East of Turpan, up the Mutou Valley toward the Flaming Mountains.
• A taxi or tour from Turpan is simplest; the road passes dramatic canyon walls.
• Bring water; shade is limited at the site and the walk is exposed.

What you will see

A row of cave mouths in the cliff face, some with faded paintings, others empty — silent witness to a faith that crossed the mountains a millennium ago. Stand quietly; the scale of the lost art is the point, and the emptiness tells its own story of what was taken.

Connect the thread

Bezeklik pairs naturally with the Kuqa and Kizil caves farther west — together they trace Buddhism’s long road across Xinjiang, from Turpan to the Tarim’s edge. Our 30 tips help you pace a ruins-heavy day in the heat so the history, not the sunburn, is what you remember.

Combine it with the neighbours

Bezeklik sits in a cluster of Silk Road sites: the Flaming Mountains, the Jiaohe ruins, and the grape valleys are all within easy reach. Do Bezeklik mid-morning, Jiaohe late afternoon for the light, and you have a full, coherent day of Turpan’s layers — Buddhist, oasis, and desert. Our Turpan ruins guide ties them together.

What to bring

Water, a sun hat, and closed shoes for the uneven path. The site is exposed and the walk from the car is longer than it looks. A guide or the on-site panels explain which caves held which murals; without context the empty niches are just holes in rock, so read before you go.

What remains, and why

The Bezeklik caves (柏孜克里克千佛洞) are cut into the cliff of a narrow gorge in the Flaming Mountains (火焰山), and what’s left is a row of cave mouths with fragments of fresco — figures, donors, patterns — that once covered the walls. Much was taken or damaged over the centuries, so manage expectations: this is atmosphere and trace, not a filled museum. What makes it land is the setting — the still, hot gorge with the red mountain behind, and the sense of a Buddhist road that ran through here long before anything else.

Combine it and visit notes

I pair Bezeklik with the Flaming Mountains lookout and, if time allows, the Turpan museum in town, which holds pieces that explain the caves better than the site itself. Go in the morning before the gorge bakes; there’s little shade. Photography inside the caves is restricted, so I shoot the gorge and the approach instead. The through-line with the rest of the region — Subashi, the caravan road — is that Xinjiang’s layers (Buddhist, then Silk Road, then now) sit right on top of each other, and Bezeklik is the clearest Buddhist seam of the lot.