The Yungang Grottoes, carved by imperial commission from the Xianbei 鮮卑 royal family of the Northern Wei Dynasty, represent a pivotal site for understanding Buddhism’s sinicization in China. This study examines the roof ridge decorations from the Yungang Grottoes as material evidence of cultural transformation during the eastward dissemination of Buddhism along the Silk Road. Through systematic analysis of five decorative elements—chiwei 鴟尾, phoenix, garuda 金翅鳥, triangular patterns, and flame beads—this research reveals how indigenous Chinese architectural traditions integrated with Buddhist iconography. The findings suggest that these roof ridge decorations offer compelling evidence of the sinicization of Buddhist art in China, a process that established a distinctive esthetic synthesis balancing foreign religious symbolism with local cultural expression. This localization process created foundational models for Buddhist artistic development throughout East Asia, illuminating the mechanisms of cross-cultural religious adaptation in medieval China.

Cultural activities play an important role in heritage communication, providing opportunities to convey heritage values, engage visitors and promote conservation awareness. However, limited research has examined how diverse cultural activities can function as interpretative tools for communicating heritage values in a sustainable way. To address this gap, this study examines the role of cultural activities in sustainable heritage communication at the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, China. In the first stage, the heritage components of the Longmen Grottoes were identified, and activities relevant to Longmen Grottoes were elaborated. In the second stage, deductive qualitative analysis was conducted to analyse the collected data, and a creative cultural activities strategy for the Longmen Grottoes was then developed. The holistic scheme developed through adaptive design provides a feasible interpretive pathway for balancing heritage interpretation, tourist satisfaction and sustainable heritage management. It can be anticipated that the outcome of sustainable heritage communication will extend beyond any single dimension of sustainability.