This Chinese attraction entered the UNESCO World
Heritage list in 1987. The Mogao Caves,
China, also known by the names Mogao
Grottoes, Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, Qianfodong
or Dunhuang Caves are 492 temples 25 km from the
centre of Dunhuang, in the Gansu province, China.
The
Mogao caves are not natural caves but they are
temples built inside the rock, by cutting the
rock itself.
The Mogao caves are famous because of their murals,
which occupy an area of 42,000 square metres,
and because of the large amount of ancient Buddhist
manuscripts that were stored inside the caves.
Mogao means high up in the desert.
Mogao Caves - history
The Mogao caves were built over a long period,
from the IV century to the XIV century. According
to the legend, in 366 the Buddhist monk Lezun
had a vision of one thousand Buddhas and persuaded
a wealthy pilgrim to finance the building of the
first temples. Over time the complex grew bigger
and bigger and the monks painted its famous murals
and carved Buddhist statues.
Mogao caves – art
The Mogao caves’ murals are one of the
greatest examples of Buddhist painting. They are
so extensive that is believed possible to fill
25km of space in a gallery with those murals.
In addition, the Mogao caves contain about 50,000
ancient Buddhist manuscripts. Also, in the Mogao
caves you can admire ancient Buddhist statues
and the architecture of the temples, which were
skilfully built inside the rock.
