The Yungang Research Institute announced on the 11th that Cave 39 of the Yungang Grottoes will be temporarily closed from April 11 to April 29, 2024, due to protection investigations and image collection work. The 39th cave is the largest cave in the western cave area, commonly known as the "Pagoda Temple Cave". The entrance of the cave is in the shape of a circular arch ladder, with a pointed arch and honeysuckle pattern decorated on the lintel. Two statues of warriors are carved on both sides of the cave door, and a Buddha niche is carved on the upper side of the cave door. Two open windows are carved on both sides of the Buddha cave, making it one of the few caves in Yungang Grottoes with two doors and windows. In the center of the cave, there are five central tower pillars carved, with thousands of Buddhas carved on the east, west, and north walls. At the top of the cave, there are flat bottomed diatom wells carved, with Asura, Feitian, Tuan Lian, and Jiaolong carved inside. Preliminary statistics show that there are more than 1920 various types of Buddhist statues still standing in Cave 39. The cave features the largest surviving traditional Chinese attic style central tower pillar in Yungang. The accurate carving and complete preservation of the architectural components of the 39th cave's pagoda columns are equivalent to moving a five level imitation wooden structure with tile ridges, eaves, and attic style pagoda into the cave as a whole. It is a rare and important reference material for the public's understanding of the style of wooden pagodas in the Northern Wei Dynasty. The 39th cave is a masterpiece of the Western Caves, with its theme centered around the central tower pillar of Sinicization, ranging from the primitive Buddha pagoda in the form of a covered bowl in India to the square layered pagoda in Sinicization; From the first and second Buddhist pagodas that are compatible with both domestic and foreign styles to the first to ninth level relief pagodas on the walls of the middle stage caves in Yungang; Finally, it developed to the 39th cave as a support for the central attic roof style square tower, completing the sinicization process of the Pagoda Temple Grottoes. The Yungang Grottoes are located at the foot of the Wuzhou Mountain, 16 kilometers west of Datong, Shanxi. It was first built during the Heping period of the Northern Wei Dynasty. There are currently 45 main caves, totaling over 1100 small niches, and more than 59000 statues of various sizes. It is one of the largest grottoes in China. In 2001, the Yungang Grottoes were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (Lai Xin She)