Mogao Caves

Meaning

In the dry desert wind the cliff is honeycombed with openings, and a red nine-story tower keeps watch before it. Enter the dark caves and the Buddhas and flying celestials painted a thousand years ago come alive in lamplight — wall by wall, the road from India to this desert runs on.

In the cliff southeast of Dunhuang, an oasis city on the Silk Road, a complex of Buddhist caves was carved over a thousand years beginning around the 4th century, hundreds of grottoes holding murals and sculpted Buddhas. It is regarded as a witness to how Buddhism, arriving from India and Central Asia, passed eastward into China along the desert trade routes; a vast cache of manuscripts was found in a sealed library cave in the early 20th century. A UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Field notes

Location

Dunhuang · China · N40.0° · E94.8°

Best time

Spring and autumn, when the desert light is soft; visits are by reservation

Getting there

About 25 km southeast of Dunhuang in Gansu; visits are booked and guided to a set of caves.

Etiquette

To protect the murals, photography inside the caves is restricted; follow the set visiting rules.

Sources

• · UNESCO World Heritage
• · Dunhuang Academy

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