The walls of the caves are lined with sculptures of Buddha in several positions, though most feature the Sakyamuni, a young Buddha, throughout a awfully seated position. The sculptures vary in size from barely a try of centimeters to over 17 meters high.
Though the carvings are exposed to the weather, they need been preserved by several efforts. The Liao Dynasty from 1049-1060 tried to correct some erosion. Additionally, when a hearth 1621, the Qing Dynasty rebuilt full parts of the sculptures. Lastly, the People's Republic of China list the grottoes as a key cultural web web site to be protected by the government. They need stopped illegal construction round the caves and saved several grottoes close to collapse. In 2001, the grottoes were created an UNESCO web site of World Heritage.