The Dunhuang Grottoes

The Dunhuang Grottoes include the Mogao Grottoes, the Yulin Grottoes, the West Qianfo Grottoes, and the Lesser Qianfo Grottoes. Of them the Mogao Grottoes are the most well-known.

The Mogao Grottoes

25 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang City, the Mogao Grottoes are also known as the Thousand-Buddha Caves.

The 5-layer grottoes, carved out of sheer precipices at the eastern foot of the Mingsha Mountain, extend about 1,600 meters from south to north. The earliest carving began in 366. A large grotto complex was gradually created between the Sixteen Kingdoms Period and the Yuan Dynasty.

The 492 grottoes that remain today contain 45,000 square meters of murals, over 2,400 painted sculptures, over 4,000 flying apsarases, 5 wooden structures of the Tang and the Song Dynasties, and thousands of lotus-shaped pillars and floral paving tiles. A gigantic, elegant palace of art, the whole grotto complex is the worlds largest, best-preserved treasure-house of Buddhist scriptures, sculptures, murals, and architectural designs. It has long enjoyed the reputation of being the Bright Pearl of the Oriental Art.

In December,1987 The Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang was listed in the Chronology of   Recognition of World Heritages in China.