The 254th Cave was built during the Northern Wei Dynasty. It is located in the middle layer of the cliff face of the Mogao Caves and is the earliest central tower-column style cave in the Mogao Caves.
The front part of the cave has a hip roof, with the northern and southern ends imitating the traditional wooden architectural form of Han Dynasty style, and supported by wooden brackets. On the east and west gables, there are several raised rafters, and between the rafters are decorated with figures of celestial beings holding lotuses and honeysuckle. The rear part of the cave has a flat roof, with a square central tower-column connecting the cave roof and the ground. The central column has niches on all four sides. The eastern side has a large niche, inside which is the statue of Jiao Zuo Maitreya Buddha, and originally there were two attendant Bodhisattvas on both sides, now only the southern side has one remaining, and the northern side has two remaining.
Inside the niche, there are flames and lotus patterns on the head light and body light, and below them are painted Bodhisattvas holding lotuses and honeysuckle. The ceiling of the niche is painted with flying celestial beings. The architrave of the niche is decorated with a child of the Bodhisattva of Medicine, and the dragon-shaped architrave beams are supported by beam columns. Most of the shadow sculptures of Bodhisattvas on the upper part of the niche and on both sides are damaged, only a few remain. The north and south and west sides of the central tower-column all have two niches on the upper and lower layers; the upper layer of the north and south walls is a pavilion-shaped niche, inside which is the statue of Jiao Zuo Maitreya Buddha; the lower layer is a round arch-shaped niche, inside which is the statue of the Buddha in meditation. The upper layer of the east wall is a double-tree niche, and the lower layer is a round arch niche, both with statues of the Buddha in meditation sitting cross-legged. On the outside of the niche, there are attendant Bodhisattvas. On both sides of the upper layer niches, there are shadow sculptures of Bodhisattvas, but they have all been blackened. The lower part of the central tower-column is decorated with yakshas. On the north and south walls of the cave, at the bottom of the northern and southern gables of the front part of the hip roof, there are two pavilion-shaped niches each, inside which is the statue of Jiao Zuo Maitreya Buddha. In the middle of the cave's south wall, there is a single-painting of the Buddha delivering teachings. On the central wall of the cave, there is a single-painting of the Buddha delivering teachings. In the middle section of the north and south walls of the cave's front part, there are two paintings of the life stories of the Buddha and the stories of the Buddha's life. On the south wall of the cave's front part, there is a painting of the transformation of subduing demons, and on the west side adjacent to the transformation of subduing demons, there is a painting of the life story of Saudo sacrificing himself to feed a tiger. On the north wall of the cave's front part, there is a painting of the life story of the Buddha's subduing demons and the life story of the Bodhisattva Nanda.
On the lower part of the four walls of the cave, a continuous decorative band composed of geometric patterns such as square patterns and rhombus patterns and plant patterns such as transformed lotus and scroll-patterned honeysuckle is drawn. At the bottom of the decorative band, there are several yaksha figures. On the east wall of the cave, there is a square clear window above the door. On both the north and south sides of the door, there are paintings of the Buddha delivering teachings. On the north wall of the cave's north passage, there is a single-painting of the Buddha delivering teachings from the Sui Dynasty.
