Brief synthesisThe massive Yungang Buddhist grottoes were cut from the mid-5th Century to early-6th Century AD. While influenced by Buddhist cave art from South and Central Asia, Yungang Grottoes have also interpreted the Buddhist cave art with distinctive Chinese character and local spirit. As a result, Yungang Grottoes have played a vitally important role among early Oriental Buddhist grottoes and had a far-reaching impact on Buddhist cave art in China and East Asia. Criterion (i): The assemblage of statuary of the Yungang Grottoes is a masterpiece of early Chinese Buddhist cave art. A number of laws and regulations including the “Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics”, the “Regulations of Datong Municipality on Protection and Management of Yungang Grottoes” and the “Conservation Master Plan of Yungang Grottoes”, have guaranteed the conservation and management of Yungang Grottoes.