The Mogao Grottoes also known as the Thousand Buddha Caves, constitute one of the three major Buddhist grotto sites in China. It is situated 25 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang city on cliffs in the eastern Singing Sand Mountains. Dating back to the Han Dynasty, the caves contain Buddhist sculpture and frescoes from ten dynasties ending with the Tang.
Mogao Grottoes lay at a strategic point on the ancient Silk Road, where religion, culture and commerce between East and West intersected for 1,000 years from the 4th century until the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). In AD 366, during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, a monk named Yue Seng chiseled the first cave here. The endeavor continued through later dynasties, including the Northern Wei (386-534), Western Wei (535-556), Northern Zhou (557-581), Sui (581-618), Tang (618-907), Five Dynasties (907-960), Song (960-1279), Western Xia (1038-1227) and Yuan (1279-1368), resulting in the fantastic group of caves that can been seen today.
Today, 492 caves still stand, containing some 2,100 colored statues and 45,000 square meters of murals. These murals, if joined together, would cover a length of 30 kilometers. The caves vary in size. The smallest one just allows a head's space, while the largest one stretches from the foot to the top of the mountain, having a height of over 40 meters. The colored statues also differ in size, ranging from a few centimeters to 33 meters high, embodying the remarkable imagination of their makers.
Despite years of erosion, the murals are still brightly colored, with clear lines. Through pictures of different styles and schools drawn in different historical periods, they tell Buddhist stories and ways as well as life in the secular world. All these, plus a largest quantity of Buddhist sutras and relics kept in the caves have provided valuable material for a study of ancient China's politics, economy, and culture and arts, as well as its science and technology, military affairs, and religion, documenting national history as well as cultural exchanges between China and the world.
The Mogao Grottoes gained international fame in 1900, when a local monk broke through the wall of a cave and found 50,000 cultural relics from the 4th to 14th centuries. He found Buddhist scriptures, embroidery, paintings, letters, and works of literature, contracts and account books written in many languages. With long winters and short hot summers, the area is most pleasant to visit between June and September. Long-sleeved shirts and sunglasses are advisable during the day and a sweater is necessary in the evening.
Most tourists spend the night in the city of Dunhuang and then take a bus to reach the Mogao Grottoes. The journey takes about an hour. To find a local tour guide, it's best to get to the grotto before 9 am.
