Mogao Grottoes at Dunhuang
Dunhuang is located in the western part of Gangsu Province in China. Historically Dunhuang was a major stop on the Silk Road that linked China with the West. Travelers from Chang'an, China's capital in ancient times, would arrive here first before they'd proceed farther west by following either of the two main routes that wind through deserts of Central Asia.
Today the major historical site in the region is Mogao Grottoes, where are located 25 kilometers (15 miles) southwest of the city Dunhuang. The several hundred Buddhist sanctuaries carved into a mountain-cliff shelter precious Buddhist murals, sculptures and scriptures. The oldest of these caves date back to the 4th century. Over the centuries, all the way through the 13th century, Buddhist devotees continued to expand the site, which came to be known as Caves of One Thousand Buddhas. Of the preserved 492 caves, 32 were built in the era of Southern-Northern Dynasties (386-581), 110 in the Sui Dynasty (581-618), 247 in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), 34 in the period of Five Dynasties (907-960), 45 in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), and 8 in the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368).
The most impressive art work of Mogao Grottoes is the murals, of which over 45,000 square meters (484,380 square feet) are extant today. The wall paintings tell stories from Buddhist scriptures, memorialize prominent Buddhist figures, and also contain scenes of daily lives from the times when the murals were created. It is estimated that if these paintings are lined up end to end, they will form a gallery that is 25 km in length.
Following the downfall of the Yuan Dynasty in the 14th century, the Chinese government began to pursue a policy of national isolation, and Mogao Caves, given its remote location, faded from the memory of the Chinese nation. This situation continued till the beginning of the 20th century when, in 1900, a Chinese Taoist priest who lived at the desolate temples accidentally discovered a secret storage chamber inside one of the caves. Well-preserved in the particular chamber were over fifty thousand pieces of historical artifacts, including written documents, paintings and embroideries, which date from 4th to 11th century. Unfortunately for China, this amazing discovery was made at a time when the country in war and chaos; China's reigning dynasty at the time, the Qing, was in serious decline and would soon collapse in 1911. A number of adventurers from Europe and Japan took advantage of China's troubles; they purchased and transferred a large number of the precious historical objects out of China, until a public uproar moved the Chinese government to halt the practice and protect Mogao Grottoes.
After 1949 the Chinese government stepped up the upkeep of Mogao Grottoes and named it a National Historical Site. In 1987, the caves were recognized as a United Nations World Heritage Site.
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