Images from a book on the Yulin Caves show what are believed to be two of the earliest depictions of Sun Wukong in murals found in Cave 3 (left) and Cave 2 of the Yulin Caves in Guazhou County, Gansu Province. /CGTN
The famous mural painting "Amitayurdhyana Sutra Transformation" on the south wall of Yulin Cave 25 is seen at the replica of the cave at the Exhibition Center for the Conservation and Research of Dunhuang Cave Relics in Dunhuang, Gansu Province. /CGTN
Murals are seen at the replica of Yulin Cave 25 at the Exhibition Center for the Conservation and Research of Dunhuang Cave Relics in Dunhuang, Gansu Province. /CGTN
An incomplete mural is seen at the replica of Yulin Cave 25 at the Exhibition Center for the Conservation and Research of Dunhuang Cave Relics in Dunhuang, Gansu Province. /CGTN
The Yulin Caves are a series of caves carved into the steep cliffs along the Yulin River Gorge in Guazhou County, Gansu Province. /CGTN
The Yulin Caves are a series of caves carved into the steep cliffs along the Yulin River Gorge in Guazhou County, Gansu Province. /CGTN
People visit the Yulin Caves in Guazhou County, Gansu Province. /CGTN
The Yulin Caves are a series of caves carved into the steep cliffs along the Yulin River Gorge in Guazhou County, Gansu Province. /CGTN
The Yulin Caves are a series of caves carved into the steep cliffs along the Yulin River Gorge in Guazhou County, Gansu Province. /CGTN
The Chinese video game "Black Myth: Wukong" has taken the world by storm, but do you know where the earliest images of Sun Wukong, or the Monkey King, are located? In the Yulin Caves in Guazhou County, northwest China's Gansu Province, two murals from the Western Xia Dynasty (1038-1227) are believed to contain two of the earliest depictions of the famous monkey monk, appearing at least 300 years before Wu Cheng'en's classic novel "Journey to the West."
Carved into the steep cliffs along the Yulin River Gorge, the Yulin Caves house over 5,200 square meters of murals and more than 270 painted sculptures spread across 43 caves. These caves belong to the same artistic complex as the renowned Mogao Caves in Dunhuang.