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Home > Travel China > China Attractions > Mogao Caves
Mogao Caves
China, an East Asian country is one of the world’s oldest civilizations. It has a vast cultural history of more than five thousand years and an outstanding natural beauty. On the other hand, this country has remained a comparatively isolated and secluded one, and being a land of mystery, this country is not known to the western half of the world. However, China is rapidly developing and has grown in the phase of modernization, with an immense speed and is also welcoming the outer world to interact and do business with them.
Mogao Caves, also called Mogao Grottoes or the Caves of A Thousand Buddhas, are set into a cliff wall of Echoing-sand Mountain southeast of the oasis city in the Gobi desert, Dunhuang. The honeycombed caves, enjoying a millennium long construction from the 4th to the 14th centuries and marking the height of Buddhist art, are the world's richest treasure house of Buddhist sutras, murals and sculptures. At its height, the cave complex had thousands caves. A total of 492 grottoes remain after thousand years of change, covered with 45,000 square meters of fascinating murals. There are also 2,400 painted statues and over 250 residential caves.
Almost every grotto exhibits a group of colorful clean-cut paintings of Buddha and Bodhisattvas, and other religious paintings, or social activities of different dynasties. The caves carved on the cliff wall provide voluminous research materials for the study of all aspects of the social life, such as religion, art, politics, economics, military affairs, culture, literature, language, music, dance, architecture and medical science in mediaeval China. The splendid culture and art unearthed here stimulates worldwide interest and now a new international subject called Dunhuangology forms.
The mural paintings are divided into seven categories, the jataka stories depicting beneficence of Sakyamuni in his previous incarnations, sutra stories depicting suffering and transmigration, traditional Chinese mythology and so on.Although the religious scriptures are primarily Buddhist, written in Chinese, Uygur, Tibetan, Turkic and other languages, Taoist, Manichean and Confucian scrolls are also part of the collection. There are 40 Northern Wei caves left. Shadows of Indian Buddhism still can be seen from the clothing, hair and facial features of the Buddhas.
China is a popular travel destination for visitors and globe trotters from all over the world who appreciate its beautiful landscapes, rich culture, delicious local cuisine, hospitality and safety. Quality is China's top priority.
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