Mogao Cave

The Mogao Caves, also well known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes, the biggest, best-preserved, and most significant site of Buddhist statuary and frescoes in all of China are all here, which is located 25km southeast of Dunhuang. There are 735 caves in Mogao, and the caves in Mogao are particularly noted for their Buddhist art spanning a period of 1,000 years. It was first constructed in 366AD and represents the great achievement of Buddhist art from the 4th to the 14th century. 492 caves are presently preserved, housing about 45,000 square meters of murals and more than 2,000 painted sculptures. Cave 302 of the Sui dynasty contains one of the oldest and most vivid scenes of cultural exchanges along the Silk Road, depicting a camel pulling a cart typical of trade missions of that period. Caves 23 and 156 of the Tang dynasty show workers in the fields and a line of warriors respectively and in the Song dynasty Cave 61, the celebrated landscape of Mount Wutai is an early example of artistic Chinese cartography, where nothing has been left out – mountains, rivers, cities, temples, roads and caravans are all depicted.

The tour takes about two hours and 12 caves will be visited, all the rest are closed. The number of visitors is limited to 6000 a day, so it’s better to book in advance in peak seasons. It is said that the treasure in Maogao caves makes the Dunhuang culture.