Mogao Grottoes

The Mogao Grottoes, 25 kilometers southeast of the city of Dunhuang, are carved into the steep cliff at the foot of Hills Mountain on the west back of the Daquangou, river bed. The first caves at Mogao appeared in 336. Of the original thousand or more caves, 493 remain intact. They contain more than 2,400 statues and 45,000 square meters of wall Paintings and are considered to be the largest treasure house of art in the world. In December 1987, they were listed by UNESCO as cultural heritages of the world.

One of Mogao's artistic features is the harmony of its architecture sculpture, and wall. The painted statues are presented in the round or in relief. The wall Paintings in the caves cover a wide range of subjects including pictures of Buddhist deities, events in the life of Buddha, Buddhist stories, architecture, landscapes, portraits of patrons of the caves, animals, and decorative patterns. They reflect social life and cultural exchanges between China and the West during the period fron 304 to 1368.They are priceless material for the study of politics, economy, culture, military affairs, and religion in ancient China. 

In 1900, Mogao surprised the world with the discovery of more than 50,000 sutras,and manuscripts, in a bricked up chamber in its caves. Today, the Mogao art has developed into a branch of learning known as Dunhuangology in the world.