Around China

Shanxi

Buddhist statue charms visitors

A dimpled, grinning bodhisattva statue that had been hidden away for more than 1,500 years in the Yungang Grottoes received a great deal of attention during an exhibition at a New Year's festival. The smiling statue in the sixth cave of the grottoes is unlike anything typically seen in the world of Buddhist art, according to an institute for the rock-cut structure in Datong. It was put on public display for the first time.