The Mogao Grottoes Guide

The Mogao Grottoes, or Mogao Grottoes form an oasis city in the heart of the Gobi Desert, twenty-five km southesat of Dunhuang County in the Northwest China. The Mogao Grottoes is also known as Thousand-Buddha Caves and praised as 'a glittering pearl that adorns the Silk Road'. The Mogao Grottoes contains some of the finest examples of Buddhist art carved out of the sandstone cliffs of Mingsha Mountain spanning a period of a thousand years. The constructions last from 4th to 14th century AD with 45000 square meters of mural paintings and more than 2000 color statues are

regarded as the greatest treasure-house of Buddhist art existing in the world. It is a powerful symbol of Buddhist art and is home to the worlds largest and most significant collection of Buddhist sutras, paintings and sculptures. Its caves are literally carved into the cliff face, and are studied extensively by historians and archaeologists because of the wealth of insight they provide about medieval China. All aspects of life and society are represented be it personal, public or religious. The level of cultural information available here has spawned a whole new field of study called "Dunhuangology"! Most of the paintings can be divided into one of seven categories that include jataka stories that depict beneficence to Sakyamuni in his previous incarnations, sutras illustrating suffering and transmigration, and traditional Chinese mythology. The murals depict various Indian mandalas and bodhisattvas. Some caves were decorated in the Tibetan style. During the Ming Dynasty, Dunhuang was abandoned, and the caves gradually faded into the sand of the Gobi desert until a Taoist priest discovered the treasure house in beginning of the 19th century. The Mogao Grottoes is a popular toursist attraction when you travel to Dunhuang.
Some guide information of the Mogao Grottoes.    Ticket: RMB180/Person(Apr. 1st-Oct. 31st) RMB80/Person (Nov.1st –Mar. 31st)          Opening hours: 08：30-17：00           Contact number: +86 10 85968802          Address: Mingshashan, Dunhuang County, Gansu  

• The Mogao Grottoes
• Crescent Moon Lake
• Dunes of the Singing Sands
• Yumenguan Pass
• Hecang Fortress
• Great Wall of Han Dynasty
• Yangguan Pass
• Dunhuang Yadan National Geologic Park