Dunhuang Mogao Cave

Address: Dunhuang, Gansu, China
Phone: +86 937 886 9060

At outskirts of city Dunhuang, Gansu province northwest China, there is a mountain called "Mountain of sand call". At the mountain’s the eastern foot, there is a system of caves 5 floors with 492 undulating temples, which are irregular in order together and looks very magnificent. That is DunhuangMogao cave world famous
It is also known with the name of Buddha cave or Dunhuang cave. Although called the cave, but the fact this place is not a cave,it is in form of carved in stone architecture. Mogao Cave is the largest and best preserved Buddhist art treasures in the world today. It is famous in the world because of statues and the frescoes represent to Buddhist art in thousand years.

 It was started in the year 366 and continued to be built during later dynasties, the number of caves continued to increase, until the 7th century Tang Dynasty, there were more than a thousand caves. Mogao Cave is the palace of art combine ancient architecture, frescoes and clay statues. During digging the cave, people’s dynasties has molded a lot of statues in cave and drawing up varied frescoes.

Dunhuang Mogao Cave

 Although it is going through the changes of history and ruined by man, but until now Mogao cave retains nearly 500 caves, preserving about 50 thousand kilometers squares murals and more than 2,000 statues buddha statues. The statue of Buddha in cave multifold type with different position reflects the colors of the different dynasties. In addition, in caves contain Buddhist scriptures also found about 5 thousands manuscripts of Buddhist scriptures and other historical materials. In it, there are thousands of silk paintings, wood carvings, embroidery pictures and calligraphic works. Mogao Cave murals are the most splendid, if the frescoes connected together can create a range row of nearly 30 kilometers meters.

The frescoes here are mostly carrying Buddhist topics, e.g. drawings of Buddha, Bodhisattva, the emperor. Drawings continuous follow the plot in Buddhist scriptures or paintings of Buddhist history etc. and it also combined with the fabled character and history of Buddhism in India, Central Asia and China. It is not only religious art, but it is also a historical picture of the era which is reflected the social life, costumes, and jewelry, forming of architecture of ancient music or dance. Simultaneously,it is also reflects the brutality, deception of the ruling class.so that, the Western scholars call frescoes cliff Dunhuang is "Libraries on the cliff".

Mogao cave is far away from the Dunhuang to show how Buddhist thought" leave secular life, integrate into the great nature ". Caves lean on the mountain and overlooking a river. Water in the river which by the streams forme is nurtured green water around the cave. Mogao Oasis not only formsa peaceful and unique landscape, but also prevents the radiation of sunlight for the entire caves here.

Map of Dunhuang Mogao Cave