This outstanding collection of religious statuary was started by the Buddhist Northern Wei rulers (386-534 AD) - creators of the Yungang Caves — after they moved their capital from Datong to Luoyang. The ensuing Sui and Tang dynasties further added to the grottoes especially during the rule of Tang Dynasty Empress Wu Zetian, before anti-Buddhist purges abruptly halted its development. The tragic number of headless statues as a result of vandalism and theft creates a solemn mood, although today the caves are obviously well cared for.

There are around 2,000 caves or niches and over 100,000 statues (with English captions) in total clustered inside a few caves, largely within a half-mile section on the western bank of the Yi River.

The well-preserved Lotus Flower Cave is important as it was built as a complete entity, and not added to over the years. It derives its name from the large lotus flower in the center of its domed roof, surrounded by musical water spirits. The Ten Thousand Buddha Cave is a typical Tang Dynasty cave built in 680. The many figures of Buddha create an overwhelming sense of the presence of the great teacher. The Prescription Cave is so called because it has 140 inscriptions recording many treatments for a wide variety of diseases and conditions carved on the walls on either side of the entrance. The list has been added to over a period of 150 years and so provides a unique record of typological changes over time. The three Binyang San Dong caves took 24 years to build and were completed in AD 523. On the main wall there are five very large Buddhist images: the central one, of Sakyamuni, is flanked by four bodhisattvas all in the ascetic and rather formal Northern Wei style. Together with the statues on the side walls, the three groups of figures symbolize the Buddhas of the past, present, and future. There were two large reliefs of the Emperor and Empress worshiping Buddha, but these were stolen in the 1930s and they now reside in museums in the USA. The southern Binyang cave has some beautiful sculptures that were completed in 641. These figures have serene features and can clearly be seen as a transition between the artistic styles of the solemn, austere Northern Wei and the lively naturalism of the Tang artists as displayed at Fengxian Si.